D.  M.  THORNTON 

A  STUDY  IN   MISSIONARY 
IDEALS  AND  METHODS 


DOUGLAS    MONTAGU    THORNTON 


"CAMBRIDGE  DAYS. 


D.  M.  THORNTON 


A  STUDY   IN   MISSIONARY  IDEALS   AND   METHODS 


BY  THE   REV. 

W.  H.  T.  GAIRDNER 

B.A.    (OXON.)i    SOMETIME  EXHIBITIONER  OF  TRINITY  COLLEGE 


WITH  NINE  ILLUSTRATIONS 


HODDER    AND    STOUGHTON 
PUBLISHERS     LONDON 


Printed  in  1908 


slack 
Annex 


GO 
SVI 


HANC    NAKKATIONEM 

D.    M.    THORNTON 

VOLENTE    ILLA    CUT,    SI    CUI    MORTALIUM, 
DKDICANDA  FUIT, 

MAIORI    DEI    GLORIA 

CONSECRAVIT 
AUCTOR 
AMICUS 


By  D.  M.  T. 

"THE  whole  wide  world  for  Jesus." 

All  creatures  great  and  small, 
Come  ye,  bow  down  before  Him, 

God  shall  be  all  in  all. 
Go,  Christian  men  united, 

Fill'd  with  compassion,  sing 
The  earth's  awak'ning  chorus, 

Peal  forth:    "  Make  Jesus  King  !' 

"The  Gospel  of  the  Kingdom." 

Go,  teach,  baptize,  to-day 
Let  all  creation  listen 

Before  it  pass  away. 
Those  millions  groping,  longing 

For  peace,  for  pardon  free, 
Tell  them  the  words  of  Jesus, 

Ring  out:    "Come  unto  Me!" 

"This  generation  calleth." 

Shall  Christians  not  obey 
Commands  of  Jesus  agelong  ? 

His  promise  stands  to-day : 
All  power  to  Me  is  given, 

My  banner  rests  unfurl'd  ; 
Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway — 

Evangelise  the  world. 


PREFACE 

"  Thornton  was  the  first  man  I  ever  met  who  devoted  his 
intellectual  powers  to  thinking  out  the  wider  problems  of  the 
evangelisation  of  the  world  and  the  spread  of  Christian  institu- 
tions in  mission  lands.  Although  since  then  I  have  met  others  who 
were  occupied  with  the  same  questions,  I  have  never  known  any 
one  who  approached  them  with  more  whole-hearted  devotion,  a 
keener  zeal  for  knowledge,  a  closer  mastery  of  detail,  or  a  more  far- 
sighted  and  elevating  faith." — [Extract  from  a  Memorial  Sketch,  by  a 
Cambridge  friend.] 

THE  above  words,  by  a  friend  of  D.  M.  Thornton's,  and 
a  man  already  highly  distinguished  in  the  field  of 
scientific  research,  express  very  justly  the  reasons 
which  dictated  the  writing  of  this  Memoir.  It  is  not 
that  Thornton  was  the  writer's  dear  friend  and  intimate 
colleague  and  leader  in  work  —  such  a  reason  would 
not  have  been  sufficient,  had  not  he  been,  as  he  was, 
representative.  And  that  in  two  ways  ;  for,  first  of  all, 
in  writing  his  life  one  is  thereby  recording  the  history, 
at  its  most  interesting  stage,  of  the  Student  Christian 
and  Volunteer  Missionary  Movement,  which  has  been 
one  of  the  most  important  Christian  movements  of 
recent  times;  and,  secondly,  one  is  directly  brought 
face  to  face  with  the  problem  of  the  most  formidable 


viii  PREFACE 

opponent  of  the  Christian  religion  in  the  whole  world — 
the  religion  of  Islam — and  is  given  to  witness  the 
methods  employed  by  a  versatile,  highly  trained,  and 
wholly  devoted  man,  to  bring  the  Gospel  home  to  the 
followers  of  that  religion.  And  in  these  days,  when 
Christ's  Church  is  more  and  more  awakening  to  the 
duty  and  the  critical  importance  of  undertaking  the 
evangelisation  of  the  Mohammedan  world,  it  is  the  hope 
of  the  writer,  it  is  the  hope  of  others  who  loved  this 
man,  that  this  book  will  help  to  deepen  this  knowledge, 
and  this  interest,  and  this  growing  sense  of  duty,  as 
well  as  giving  to  the  Church  the  spiritual  inspiration 
of  a  life  that  spent,  and  was  spent,  yes,  to  the  uttermost 
extent  of  its  powers,  for  the  Kingdom  of  God  and  for 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

The  writer  of  this  Life  was,  as  has  been  already 
said,  Thornton's  partner  in  work  during  the  whole  of 
the  latter's  time  in  Egypt,  except  the  first  twelve 
months;  and  shared  jointly  with  him  in  the  carrying 
out  of  the  various  schemes  the  inception  of  which  is 
narrated  in  this  book.  If  this  relationship  is  not 
much  en  Evidence  in  the  following  pages,  it  is  by  no 
means  because  it  was  ignored  by  Thornton,  whether 
in  his  letters  and  memoranda,  or  otherwise ;  but  simply 
because  it  is  not  relevant  to  the  subject  in  hand, 
especially  as,  in  regard  to  the  conception  of  those 
plans  (which  is  what  mainly  forms  the  subject  of 


PREFACE  ix 

this  book),  Thornton's  name  might  fairly  stand  alone. 
He  was  a  man  who  sought  and  was  grateful  for  all 
the  help  he  could  get  in  the  carrying  out  of  his 
plans  for  the  Kingdom;  and  it  is  a  source  of  happi- 
ness to  the  writer  that  he  was  privileged  to  render 
him  some  such  assistance. 

My  best  thanks  are  due  to  his  widow  and  sister  for 
help  received  in  arranging  material ;  to  Miss  Emily 
Barton  and  Mrs.  Barker  for  very  much  assistance ; 
to  Dr.  Eugene  Stock  for  so  kindly  reading  over  this 
Life  of  his  friend ;  and  to  the  Rev.  T.  Tatlow  and 
the  others  who  contributed  biographical  reminiscences 
of  the  subject  of  this  Life. 

OCHTERLONY,   1908. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I 

CHILDHOOD  AND  SCHOOLDAYS 

The  Air-drawn  Temple,  1 — The  Family  of  Douglas  Thornton,  3 — Child- 
hood, 4 — Early  Schooldays,  6 — First  Personal  Experience  of  Religion, 
9 — Leaves  Marlborough,  13 — The  Interval  before  Cambridge,  14. 

CHAPTER  II 

CAMBRIDGE  :    THE  STUDENT  CHRISTIAN  MOVEMENT — 
IN  THE  RANKS 

Sketch  of  Religious  Movements  in  the  University  from  Eighteenth 
Century,  15 — The  "  Student  Volunteer  "  Movement,  17 — Thornton's 
Attitude  on  Going  Up,  19 — His  Missionary  Zeal  at  the  Outset,  21 — 
His  Evangelistic  Zeal,  22 — Influences  determining  his  Future,  24 — 
The  Academic  Aspect,  25 — His  First  Keswick,  and  deep  Experience 
there,  27 — Second  Year  at  Cambridge,  28 — Second  Keswick,  and 
contact  with  S.V.M.U.  Ideals,  30— Third  Year  at  Cambridge,  31 — 
Takes  Degree,  34 — Third  Keswick,  and  Preparation  for  Liverpool 
Conference,  35. 

CHAPTER  III 

THE  STUDENT  CHRISTIAN  MOVEMENT — ON  THE  STAFF 

The  Liverpool  Conference  ;  The  Watchword  and  the  Memorial  to  the 
Churches,  37 — The  Shrewsbury  Church  Congress,  41 — His  Work  for 
the  Student  Movement,  43 — Thornton's  Fidelity  to  the  Watchword 
in  the  Mission  Field,  44 — The  "  Missionary  Study  "  Idea,  47 — Leaves 
Cambridge,  and  writes  "Africa  Waiting,"  49 — The  Missionary  Ideal 
and  the  Theological  Colleges,  51 — The  Birmingham  Conference,  52 — 
The  Spiritual  Basis  of  the  Movement,  55 — Thornton  and  High  Church 
Colleges,  56 — His  Views  on  Christian  Unity,  58. 


xii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  IV 
ON   THE  THRESHOLD 

Reasons  for  offering  to  the  C.M.S.  for  Islam,  and  for  Cairo,  61— Engaged  ; 
Ordained,  64— His  Ideal  on  the  Threshold,  65— Leaves  for  Egypt, 
66. 

CHAPTER  V 
THE  FIELD  AND  THE  MAN 

The  Egyptian  Nation,  68— The  Copts,  69— Cairo,  71— Early  Work  of 
C.M.S.  in  Cairo,  71— Renewed  Work,  72— Educated  Islam,  73— 
Early  Trials  of  a  Missionary,  74 — Thornton's  Physical,  Intellectual, 
Artistic,  Moral,  and  Spiritual  Characteristics,  76. 

CHAPTER  VI 
THE  FIRST  Six  MONTHS 

First  Impressions  of  Cairo,  92 — The  Upper  Nile  Valley,  95 — Studies  the 
Coptic  Question,  96— A  Coptic  Priest's  House  in  Old  Cairo,  97— The 
Coptic  Patriarchate  and  Theological  Seminary,  100 — Intercourse  with 
Coptic  Laymen,  101 — The  Condition  of  the  Coptic  Church,  104 — 
English-speaking  Effendis,  107 — "First  Apology  for  my  Christian 
Belief  in  Egypt,"  109 — "  A  Challenge,"  110 — Arabic-French  Language 
Study,  111. 

CHAPTER  VII 

THE  FIRST  Six  MONTHS 

The  Importance  of  Arabic,  112 — "Lines  of  Work  Urgently  Needed,"  113 
— The  Evangelisation  of  the  Moslem  World,  114 — "A  Meditation 
on  the  Moslem  World,"  117 — Cairo  as  a  Centre,  120 — Preaching  at 
All  Saints',  121— The  Training  of  Native  Agents,  122— Evangelistic 
Extension,  124 — Summary  of  D.  M.  T.'s  Projected  Lines  of  Work  in 
his  First  Six  Months,  125. 

CHAPTER  VIII 
A   GLIMPSE  WITHIN 

Effect  of  Missionary  Life  on  the  Soul,  127— His  First  Easter  in  Cairo, 
129— Goes  to  Palestine;  Jaffa,  130  — "Calvary,"  131  — Ordained 
"Presbyter,"  132 — Conversation  with  a  Sheikh  on  the  Mount  of 
Olives,  133— Marriage,  7th  November  1899,  134. 


CONTENTS  xiii 

CHAPTER   IX 

APPRENTICESHIP 

19  Sharia  Gamia  Sherkess;  Language  Study,  135 — Methods  in  Language 
Study,  136— Early  Efforts,  138— Baptism  of  Two  Converts,  140 — 
Superintends  printing  of  the  Third  Edition  of  the  Arabic  Prayer- 
Book,  141— How  Thornton  could  Wait,  143— First  Furlough,  144. 

CHAPTER  X 

EXPERIMENTAL 

The  C.M.S.  Book  Dep6t,  146— His  Work  there,  147— Ramadhan  and 
Bairam  Preachings,  149 — The  "International  Church"  Idea,  151 — 
"Quiet  Advertisement,"  151 — Easter  Monday  Tract  Distribution, 
152— Personal  Work,  153. 

CHAPTER  XI 

THE  LITERATURE  IDEA 

Publication  in  Arabic,  155 — Works  up  the  Book  Depot  Stock,  156 — 
Develops  Publishing,  157 — A  Mohammedan  Controversial  Tract, 
159 — "Christian  Literature  in  Egypt,"  162 — Apologia  pro  vita  sua, 
166 — "Harnessing"  the  Arabic  Language,  170 — Maturest  Thoughts 
on  this  Question,  171. 

CHAPTER  XII 
"BAIT  ARABI  PASHA." 

Housefinding  in  Cairo,  175 — Negotiations  for  Bait  Arabi,  176 — Descrip- 
tion of  the  House,  177 — Thornton  and  Jewish  Landlords  and  Moslem 
Workmen,  178 — Settles  in,  180 — Tour  to  Greece ;  Letters  from 
Pirseus  and  Athens,  180 — Constantinople,  182 — "Wanted  Special- 
ists: A  Word  to  Men,"  184 — Autumn  "Campaign"  in  Cairo; 
General  Meetings  at  B.A.P.,  188 — Thornton  a  pro-Egyptian,  189 — 
National  Questions  at  B.A.P.,  191 — Letters  to  the  Bishop  of 
Durham,  192  —  Visits  Outside  Societies,  194  —  Helps  Coptic 
Students,  195 — Personal  Work,  196 — Special  Religious  Meetings 
at  B.A.P.,  198— Mahmoud,  afterwards  Boulus,  200— Story  of  his 
Conversion  by  Himself,  201 — "Reinforcements!"  205. 


xiv  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XIII 

"ORIENT  AND  OCCIDENT" 

What  led  to  this  Enterprise,  206— Its  Scope,  207— Anxiety  of  it,  208 — 
First  Number,  209 — D.  M.  T.  foresees  Wide  Circulation  and  Result 
thereof,  210 — Results  of  First  Four  Months,  212 — Opens  up  New 
Fields  of  Effort,  214— Other  Work  not  Dropped,  217— The  Azhar 
University  Mosque,  219 — The  Sheikh  from  Omsk,  220 — Publications 
resulting  from  0.  and  0.,  221— Ideas  for  a  Depot  at  Port  Said,  222 
—"Reinforcements  !"  223— His  Weariness,  225. 

CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  LAST  FURLOUGH 

The  Cairo  Conference,  226 — New  ' '  Visions  " ;  A  Cairo  Christian  College, 
228 — His  Last  Furlough,  234 — His  Labours,  235 — Advice  for 
Liverpool  Conference,  236 — Paper  read  before  Oxford  and  Cam- 
bridge Dons,  237— "Cairo  as  a  Key  to  the  Moslem  World,"  238. 

CHAPTER  XV 
THE  LAST  YEAR 

Unwillingness  to  leave  Work  at  Home,  245 — No  Reinforcements,  Illness, 
Accident,  Disappointments,  246 — Increased  Effect  of  Intercourse 
with  Coptic  Youth,  247— Follows  up  0.  and  0.  Afield,  248— The 
C.M.S.  and  the  Coptic  Church,  249— Helps  in  Solution  of  their 
"Education  Question,"  251 — Idea  of  Joint  Evangelistic  Committee 
and  United  Missions,  252 — Work  for  Moslems  Final  Objective,  253 
— Leaves  Cairo  for  Keneh,  254 — "Two  Visits  to  Upper  Egypt,"  255 
— Keneh,  257— Luxor,  258— Assouan,  259— Sohag  ;  Tahta,  261— 
Assiut,  262— Nikhaila,  263— Effect  on  D.M.T.  of  this  Success,  265 
— New  Schemes,  266 — "A  Third  Visit  to  Upper  Egypt";  Minieh  j 
Beni  Suef,  267. 

CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  LAST  DAWN — AND  THE  FIRST 
Last  Illness  and  Death  of  Douglas  Montagu  Thornton,  274. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

D.  M.  THORNTON     .       .       .       .       .       .."..'     Frontispiece 

D.  M.  THORNTON 

Aged  3  years Facing  page  4 

D.  M.  THORNTON 

Aged  13  years })  4 

D.  M.  THORNTON 

S.V.M.U.  days „        „  41 

D.  M.  THORNTON 

At  Ordination,  1898 »         „  64 

THE   COURT  OP  THE  UNIVERSITY  MOSQUE, 

EL  AZHAR,  CAIRO „       „  73 

D.  M.  THORNTON 

Cairo,  1903 ,,         ,,  146. 

BAIT  ARABI  PASHA „       „         177 

D.  M.  THORNTON  AND  SHEIKH  BULUS  FAWZI 

November  1906  235 


CHAPTER  I 

CHILDHOOD   AND  SCHOOLDAYS 

THE  life  of  Douglas  Montagu  Thornton  was  like 
some  air-drawn  temple,  of  which  the  vestibule  alone 
is  built.  Yet,  in  the  depository  of  the  architect  there 
exists  a  plan;  and,  by  that  plan,  the  eye  can  build 
on  to  that  vestibule  and  complete  it.  Such  unfinished 
edifices  may  have  two  fates :  sometimes  that  vestibule 
remains  standing  alone,  until  it  becomes  itself  a  ruin 
and  the  plan  is  forgotten  or  destroyed ;  but  sometimes 
other  builders  come  and,  demanding  of  the  architect 
to  yield  up  his  plan,  arise  and  complete  the  work. 

It  is  the  second  destiny  that  will  befall  the  un- 
completed life-work  of  Douglas  Thornton.  And  our 
task  is  therefore  to  set  forth  the  plan  that  guided 
his  building;  guided  by  which  others  may  henceforth 
build. 

It  is,  fortunately,  a  comparatively  simple  task,  for  he 
has  himself,  in  a  mass  of  writing  which  has  been  pre- 
served, clearly  set  forth  the  plan.  We  may  therefore 
very  largely  let  his  voice,  speaking  from  letter  or  sermon 
or  magazine  article,  tell  its  own  story.  The  selection  or 


2  D.  M.  THORNTON 

compression  of  this  great  mass  of  material,  accumulated 
in  nine  short  years  of  work  in  Egypt,  will  be  the  sole 
difficulty  of  the  task. 

He  was  a  man  of  one  idea  and  one  aim ;  but  as  that 
aim  was  all-inclusive,  it  can  hardly  be  called  narrow.  So 
neither  was  he  narrow.  It  is  the  interest  of  that  end 
and  that  aim,  then,  that  will  constitute  the  sole  interest 
of  this  Life.  He  himself  found  them  absorbingly  interest- 
ing, and  generally  a  man  who  is  himself  interested  is  also 
interesting.  But  those  whose  idea  of  interest  is  bound 
up  with  variety  may  not  find  this  book  diverting.  Or 
shall  we  say  that  perhaps  it  may  alter  their  idea  of  what 
is  diverting?  He  himself,  in  the  singleness  of  his  purpose, 
stripped  his  life,  with  something  of  sternness,  of  all  that 
was  superfluous  or  unrelated  to  the  work  in  hand.  It  is 
not  to  be  denied  that  this  constitutes  some  difficulty  to 
the  biographer.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  this  fact  makes 
it  easier  for  the  book  to  convey  the  impression  of  the  man. 
A  Life  of  D.  M.  Thornton  ought  to  convey,  written  not 
between  its  lines,  but  in  its  lines,  the  true  impression  of 
D.  M.  Thornton's  life.  That  impression  will  be  also  a 
message.  And  that  message  will  assuredly  be  an 
inspiration,  a  call  to  work,  and  a  kinetic  cause  of  action. 

Thornton's  childhood  and  boyhood  were  a  clear 
prophecy  of  his  youth  and  manhood.  His  character 
and  career  were  regularly  shaped  from  the  first.  And 
the  stock,  the  material  out  of  which  character  and 
career  were  shaped,  lent  itself  kindly  to  the  shaping. 
Born  at  Southwold,  in  Suffolk,  on  18th  March  1873, 
he  was  the  third  son  of  the  Rev.  Claude  Cecil 


CHILDHOOD  AND  SCHOOLDAYS  3 

Thornton,  at  that  time  Vicar  of  Southwold,  afterwards 
of  Northwold,  Norfolk.  His  grandfather,  the  Rev. 
Spencer  Thornton,  died  in  1850,  at  the  early  age  of 
thirty-six,  but  his  short  ministry  at  Wendover,  Bucks, 
was  wonderfully  fruitful,  and  his  name  is  well  known 
as  one  of  the  most  devoted  evangelical  clergy  of  that 
day.  His  grandmother,  Mrs.  Spencer  Thornton,  was  a 
Du  Pre,  descended  from  the  Huguenots.  She  lived 
until  1898,  and  her  long  life  was  devoted  to  working 
for  God.  Her  grandchildren  owed  much  to  her 
example  and  teaching,  and  who  can  doubt  that 
Douglas  Thornton's  intense  love  for  the  Bible  was 
first  aroused  by  the  teaching  received  from  his  mother 
and  grandmother? 

The  name  of  Thornton  has  always  been  well 
known  in  missionary  circles.  Henry  Thornton,  the 
first  Treasurer  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  and 
other  leaders  of  the  Evangelical  Revival  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  belonged  to  another  branch  of 
the  same  family. 

His  mother's  family,  though  not  so  well  known, 
were  also  deeply  religious.  She  was  a  daughter  of 
John  Barton,  formerly  a  Quaker,  who  eventually 
joined  the  Church  of  England.  She  was  one  of 
several  sisters,  who  as  girls  became  earnest  Christians, 
and  from  1860,  when  one  of  their  brothers,  the  Rev. 
John  Barton,  went  out  to  India  as  a  missionary,  the 
interest  of  the  family  in  missionary  work  deepened. 
Douglas  owed  much  in  later  life  to  this  uncle's 
example  and  influence,  especially  during  his  college 


4  D.   M.  THORNTON 

days,  at  which  time   Mr.   Barton   was  Vicar  of   Holy 
Trinity,  Cambridge. 

So,  from  his  childhood,  he  was  surrounded  by 
religious  influences,  and  the  knowledge  that  both  his 
father  and  mother's  relations  had  spent  their  lives  as 
devoted  workers  for  God. 

He  was  a  strong  healthy  baby,  merry  and 
contented;  from  the  first  he  showed  great  strength 
of  character.  On  the  night  before  his  baptism  a 
gathering  was  held  at  Southwold  Vicarage,  and 
earnest  prayers  were  offered,  dedicating  the  child  to 
God's  service.  The  record  of  his  life  shows  that  these 
prayers,  like  Hannah's,  were  answered. 

"There  are  more  things  in  heaven  and  earth  than 
are  dream'd  of  in  our  philosophy,"  and  of  these  things 
are  the  mystery  and  the  fact  of  prayer.  The  deliberate 
dedication  of  children  to  God  and  the  kingdom  of 
God,  both  on  the  part  of  parents  and  god-parents, 
is  a  surer  way  of  hastening  the  kingdom  than  we 
may  have  thought. 

His  mother  died  before  he  was  six;  but  before 
then  she  had  taught  him  to  read  and  given  him 
Scripture  lessons  herself.  He  was  an  earnest  little 
fellow,  it  would  seem.  She  called  him  "The  Little 
Bishop,"  and  there  is  a  sentence  in  a  letter  of  hers 
which  gives  a  pretty  picture  of  little  Douglas,  who, 
she  says,  "Is  most  devout  at  church,  and  follows  the 
service  most  intently,  which  he  can  read  well  enough 
to  do;  and  directly  he  loses  his  place  for  a  moment 
he  wants  to  be  shown  it  again."  And  we  have 


CHILDHOOD  AND  SCHOOLDAYS  5 

another  sketch  of  him  by  another:  "A  particularly 
sunny  boy,  affectionate,  and  very  fond  of  flowers. 
He  was  very  intelligent  and  truthful,  and  very  eager 
and  excitable." 

He  was  all  his  life  extremely  open  to  home 
influences,  and  later  on  repaid  to  the  full  what  he 
had  received  in  a  peculiarly  touching  faithfulness 
and  love  towards  his  brothers* and  sisters.  On  these 
he  lavished  thoughtfulness  and  care,  and  at  every 
time  of  need  his  family  learned  to  look  to  him  as 
the  son  and  elder  brother  on  whom  they  could  rely 
absolutely.  The  writer  has  before  him  the  written 
testimony  of  his  brothers  to  the  deep  moral  and 
spiritual  influence  exerted  by  him  on  their  lives.  His 
own  mother's  place  was  taken  by  a  stepmother,  who 
was  a  true  mother  to  him,  and  whose  powerful  influence 
on  his  life  he  was  never  weary  of  acknowledging. 

And,  as  so  often  happens,  he  had  yet  another  home- 
gift,  a  nurse,  who  also  lavished  on  him  almost  a 
mother's  love,  which  he  to  the  full  returned.  His 
letters  to  her,  generally  on  her  birthday,  entirely 
resemble  those  of  a  boy  to  his  mother,  so  full  are 
they  of  his  deepest  confidences,  and  so  touching  is 
the  tone  of  familiar  affection. 

An  English  rectory,  a  large  family  of  brothers  and 
sisters,  with  plenty  of  babies,  the  love  of  parents  and 
nurse,  an  atmosphere  of  faith  and  devotion  to  the 
Kingdom, — what  nursery  like  this  for  lives  which  are 
afterwards  to  tell  ? 

His   father   was   proud   of   his   boy's  evident  talent, 


6  D.  M.  THORNTON 

and  was  anxious  to  give  him  the  very  best  education. 
Before  going  to  Marlborough,  he  had  gone  to  two 
preparatory  schools,  and  we  have  a  quaint  extract 
from  a  journal  written  later,  giving  his  account  of 
those  early  years — 

"  I  had  no  mother  since  the  age  of  five ;  a  timid  boy, 
self-centred,  I  grew  up,  and  was  often  misunderstood. 
In  September  1882  I  went  to  school  at  Rottingdean, 
four  miles  east  of  Brighton.  I  did  feel  lonely  ...  I 
felt  crushed  and  sorrowful  .  .  .  No  one  knows  what  I 
went  through  for  years  at  that  school.  A  fat  and 
silent  boy!  of  course,  I  was  barred!  I  rose  to  the 
top  of  the  school  at  eleven.  I  began  Homer  when  I 
was  ten  years  old ! 

"  In  order  to  prepare  for  an  Eton  scholarship,  father 
sent  me  to  Tabor's,  Cheam,  for  a  year.  I  was  put  in 
the  first  class,  and  came  out  second  in  mathematics 
during  my  first  term.  The  change  of  school  had  done 
me  good.  Here  I  was  popular  somehow,  and  got  on 
well.  I  made  some  friends.  I  never  did  before." 

Here  are  a  few  extracts  from  his  boyish  letters  at 
that  time;  the  first  is  quaint  enough  to  be  given  in 
extenso.  At  the  top  are  two  of  the  horrible  smudgy 
"  transfers "  that  were  so  dear  to  the  schoolboys  of  the 
eighties. 

[Aet.  11.]  "ROTTINGDEAN,  Feb.  15,  1885. 

"I  hope  you  have  enjoyed  your  birthday.  I  am 
sorry  I  did  not  write  to  you  for  it,  but  I  was  not 
sending  a  letter  home,  and  did  not  want  to  waste  my 
stamps,  as  I  have  used  four  on  Valentines.  I  also 
hoped  you  liked  yours,  as  I  chose  one  I  thought  would 
be  suitable  for  you.  To  be  sure,  you  are  getting  aged ; 
you  are  forty -two  or  forty-three ;  I  don't  know  which. 


CHILDHOOD  AND  SCHOOLDAYS  7 

Do  you  know  I  found  out  by  myself  a  way  of  finding 
when  people's  birthdays  are?  Say,  as  yours  is,  the 
12th  of  February;  you  double  12  to  24,  then  add 
5  =  29,  then  multiply  29  by  5  =  145,  then  add  2,  as 
February  is  the  second  month,  =  147;  you  tell  me  the 
number,  namely  147,  and  I  tell  you  the  date  on  which 
your  birthday  is  on.  Try  and  understand  it,  and  if 
you  can't,  get  Evelyn  or  Ada  to  help  you.  I  keep  my 
diary  every  day.  Good-bye." 

The  transfers,  the  Valentines,  the  elaborate  arith- 
metical problem  pressed  on  his  "  quite  aged  "  nurse,  are 
very  quaint  and  characteristic. 

The  next  is  from  Marlborough,  1887,  aged  fourteen, 
but  both  the  handwriting  (which  now  for  the  first  time 
is  clearly  identical  with  the  characteristic  script  of  later 
years)  and  the  subject  matter  show  that  an  immense 
step  had  been  taken  since  the  above  artless  boy's  pro- 
duction. 

"THE  COLLEGE, 
"MARLBOROUGH,  Nov.  20,  1887. 

"...  There  are  only  four  more  weeks  and  a  day 
before  we  go  home.  Just  think  how  soon  it  is,  and 
I  shall  see  old  Molly  again.  But  what  a  pity  it  seems 
that  three  should  not  come  back,  as  before  the  girls 
went  to  school ;  but  it  is  God's  will  that  it  should  not 
be  so.  The  exams,  begin  very  soon,  and  there  are  also 
extra  books  which  we  have  to  read  up.  I  am  taking 
up  two.  One  on  astronomy,  all  about  the  sun,  moon, 
and  stars.  It  is  awfully  interesting  to  see  thereby 
God's  Almighty  hand.  For  instance,  the  star  nearest 
us  is  20  millions  of  millions  of  miles,  and  the  star 
farthest  is  about  500  X  20  millions  of  millions  of  miles. 
The  sun  is  only  the  centre  of  a  very  small  universe, 
with  a  few  planets,  such  as  the  Earth,  Venus,  Mercury, 


8  D.  M.  THORNTON 

Jupiter,  Neptune.  But  this  is  only  one  of  thousands ; 
the  stars  which  we  see  are  themselves  suns  and  planets 
in  their  universe,  but  are  so  far  distant  as  not  to  make 
any  impression  of  heat  on  us.  Then  a  man  called 
Laplace  showed  what  would  happen  to  the  earth  if 
the  world  lasted  long  enough.  Because  it  is  getting 
nearer  and  nearer  the  sun,  soon  the  people  will  collect 
to  the  north  and  south  poles,  as  all  snow  and  ice  will 
melt  away.  Take,  for  instance,  Egypt,  which  used  to 
be  a  very  fertile  land,  and  now  is  half -desert.  It  is 
altogether  wonderful." 


One  sees  the  D.  M.  Thornton  of  the  future  in  the 
enthusiastic  way  he  "demonstrates"  his  latest  ideas 
in  a  letter.  But  the  quiet  allusion  to  "God's  will" 
calls  for  special  notice.  It  stands  for  more  than  the 
occasional  pieties  of  boys  of  that  age,  for  it  alludes 
to  an  event  which  his  subsequent  life  proved  to  be 
of  first-rate  and  real  importance  in  his  spiritual 
history,  and  the  spiritual  history  of  every  man  is, 
after  all,  his  only  history. 

Of  even  Samuel,  child  of  Hannah,  pupil  of  Eli,  son 
of  the  Church,  the  Bible  can  say  that  before  the  age 
of  four  "he  knew  not  yet  Jehovah,  neither  had  the 
word  of  Jehovah  come  unto  him " ;  and  relates  an 
event  which  decisively  established  in  the  little  boy  a 
first-hand  experience  of  God.  The  experience  of  many 
a  child  and  boy,  as  borne  out  by  their  mature  lives, 
shows  us  that  Samuel's  experience  need  not  be  ex- 
ceptional ;  and  little  Douglas  was  one  of  these.  For 
those  who  are  anxious  to  learn  how  the  Spirit  of  God 
works  with  children,  directly,  yet  perfectly  quietly,  it 


CHILDHOOD  AND  SCHOOLDAYS  9 

will   be  by  no  means  thought   superfluous  to  dwell  a 
moment  on  this  event. 

In  May  1886,  when  he  was  thirteen,  his  elder 
brother  Cecil  had  a  serious  illness,  which  led  to  what 
the  elder  boy  himself  felt  to  be,  and  openly  said  was, 
his  "conversion."  He  wrote  to  Douglas  of  the  change 
which  had  come  into  his  life,  "asking  me,  like  him, 
to  turn  and  serve  Christ,  telling  me  I  should  never 
regret  it."  Douglas  "tried,  not  sincerely,  and  failed"; 
but  the  next  holidays  his  brother's  illness  impressed 
him,  as  long  afterwards  he  wrote  to  Cecil's  nurse, 
"Do  you  know,  my  being  awake  on  some  of  those 
nights  when  you  and  Cecil  thought  I  was  asleep, 
and  prayed  together  about  his  pain  and  me  too, 
did  me  more  good  than  any  other  thing  in  my 
life  ? "  In  September,  Cecil  underwent  a  serious 
operation  successfully,  and  the  news  was  telegraphed 
to  his  relations  at  Nottingham,  with  whom  Douglas 
was  staying.  As  he  was  walking  to  the  post  office, 
taking  a  telegram  of  thankfulness  for  the  good  news, 
a  light  came.  Writing  about  it  some  years  later,  he 
says :  "  It  was  there  that  the  light  dawned.  I  thanked 
God  for  Cecil,  then  I  felt  led  to  thank  Him  for  giving 
me  health  and  strength  while  He  saw  fit  to  give  my 
brother  sickness.  Then  it  dawned  on  me  further,  'I 
have  never  really  thanked  Him  for  sending  Jesus  to 
die  for  me.'  So  there  and  then  I  did  so,  and  then 
and  there  I  gained  assurance  of  forgiveness,  which  I 
have  never  lost." 

There  are  many  who  distrust  these  youthful  experi- 


io  D.  M.  THORNTON 

ences.  But  the  point  is,  how  can  they  be  denied  when 
they,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  work  ?  Douglas  never  went 
back  on  this  experience.  At  Cecil's  funeral,  as  they 
were  returning  from  the  grave,  Douglas's  godmother 
said  to  him,  "Now,  Douglas,  you  carry  on  the  work 
that  Cecil  had  in  his  heart  to  do  for  God."  And  he  did. 

He  went  up  to  Marlborough  shortly  afterwards, 
having  gained  the  second  Foundation  Scholarship  that 
year,  and  during  his  five  years  there  he  was  conscious 
of  this  personal  touch  with  the  Divine  and  the  Unseen. 

Of  course  that  did  not  prevent  his  school-life  being  in 
all  respects  of  the  normal,  jolly  type  with  which  we  are 
all  familiar.  He  worked,  "slacked,"  played  games, 
"  ragge(V  and  joked,  just  like  any  proper  specimen  of 
the  schoolboy  britannicus.  And  behind  and  under  it  all 
was  this  personal  experience  of  God. 

Not  that  it  took  a  particularly  striking  form — some 
of  his  closest  friends  saw  little  that 'was  striking  in  the 
boy.  Perhaps  that  was  as  it  should  be.  At  anyrate, 
the  witness  of  his  letters  are  conclusive  that  his  life 
was  slowly,  but  surely,  developing  in  every  way. 

Here  are  a  few  touches  showing  the  thoughtfulness 
and  affectionateness  that  was  always  so  very  marked — 

"March  21,  1887. 

"  It  is  quite  true,  I  rather  dread  the  holidays,  because 
I  think  it  will  seem  lonely,  especially  after  school  life. 
.  .  .  But  I  hope  in  some  way  to  cheer  you  up,  and  to 
try  and  fill  up  the  gap.  ...  I  pray  for  your  mother,1 
and  hope  my  prayers  will  be  answered.  This  is  one  of 

1  His  nurse's  mother  was  ill. 


CHILDHOOD  AND  SCHOOLDAYS  n 

iny  favourite  texts,  '  All  things  work  together  for  good 
for  those  that  love  God.'  I  daresay  it  is  one  of  yours 
also.  I  got  a  splendid  present  of  Daily  Light.  ..." 

"  June  20,  1887. 

"  I  thought  I  ought  to  write  a  line  to  gladden  your 
heart  concerning  the  scholarship  I  got  father,  £30 
for  two  years,  isn't  it  nice?"  [Rather  a  nice  way  of 
putting  it.] 

A  characteristically  thoughtful  touch — 

"Feb.  12,  1888. 

"I  hope  you  are  not  getting  overdone  with  all  the 
work  and  the  little  sleep  I  know  you  always  get.  One 
blessing  is  that  you  are  able  to  do  with  so  little,  but 
please  don't  overdo  yourself. 

PRIVATE. 

"  Molly,  I'm  afraid  in  the  holidays  I  very  often  speak 
unkindly  to  you  in  the  holidays.  I  hope  shall  be  better 
next  holidays.  One  thing  I  am  going  to  tell  you  which 
I  have  reserved  till  your  birthday,  and  that  is  this.  .  .  ." 
[Follows  a  great  secret !]  "  I  hope  they  are  all  com- 
paratively well  now,  poor  dears.  Then,  Molly,  I  want 
you  to  write  to  me  and  give  me  any  confirmation  advice 
you  can.  I  think  I  am  so  lucky  to  be  confirmed  on  my 
birthday,  God  willing.  Not  only  at  the  same  time  do 
I  feel  that  I  am  beginning  a  new  year,  but  also  a  new 
period  of  my  life." 

"Ap.  1,  1888. 

"...  I  had  such  a  nice  confirmation  day,  though 
very  cold.  Father  found  two  coats  none  too  much ! 
We  had  most  lovely  hymns. 

"  Before  it,  one  to  commit  ourselves  to  God,  and  so 
forth,  and  then  after  being  confirmed,  '  Thine  for  ever, 
God  of  Love.'  What  a  lovely  hymn  that  is.  I  shall 
always  remember  it  henceforth." 


12  D.  M.  THORNTON 

"Nov.  25,  1888. 

"  The  Salvation  Army  is  all  alive  here,  as  there  is  much 
wickedness,  because  the  place  has  been  neglected  by 
sleepy  clergymen.  ...  I  hope  the  Church  Army  men 
are  doing  good  in  the  parish;  they  are  bound  to  do 
good,  I  think,  since  they  are  themselves  working  men, 
and  so  can  associate  with  other  working  men  quite 
freely." 

The  next  letter  (to  his  sister)  shows  exactly  the 
extremely  sane  way  in  which  he  regarded  the  Christian 
life  at  school — 

"Oct.  2,  1890. 

"  I  am  deeply  indebted  to  you  for  that  nice,  kind  and 
good  letter  you  sent  me,  telling  me  not  to  fret,  but  to 
trust  in  the  Lord.  I  daresay  you  are  right,  and  I  dare- 
say I  do  fret  a  bit,  and  I  am  very  thankful  to  you  for  so 
putting  it  to  me,  but  you  know  it  isn't  wrong  surely  to 
feel  how  much  one  lacks,  and  to  wonder  when  one  can 
get  in  time  to  supply  that  need  through  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord.  The  fact  is  I  am  too  content  to  be  good  up  to 
a  low  standard,  which  to  a  schoolboy  seems  as  high  as 
one  can  attain  in  school  life.  There  be  in  sundry  times 
various  men,  whom  we  should  call  eccentric,  who  show 
their  religion  markedly,  even  to  cause  ridicule.  I  think 
what  our  master  wishes  is  to  raise  the  morals  step  by 
step.  They  know  that  to  most  people  real  and  lasting 
and  effectual  religion  does  not  suddenly  make  itself 
known.  They  try  to  make  boys  be  in  the  same  position 
to  the  law  of  Christ  as  the  Israelites  were  to  the  law  of 
Moses.  This  law  was  far  in  advance  of  its  times,  and 
Moses  tried  to  lead  the  people  step  by  step  to  it.  I  admire 
all  out-and-outness  immensely,  but  a  consistent  school  life, 
I  think,  is  a  thing  to  be  more  admired  and  looked  up  to 
than  anything  at  our  age.  I  feel  sure  you  come  as  near 
leading  that  life  as  any,  and  I  am  sure  this  tells  more 
than  anything  on  earth  in  influencing  other  boys.  But 


CHILDHOOD  AND  SCHOOLDAYS  13 

I  do  believe  in  prayer,  and  I  believe  in  it  more  than  in 
Bible  reading,  if  it  is  made  after  due  thought  and 
consideration." 

And  the  following  shows  what  he  was  thinking 
about  on  the  eve  of  leaving  Marlborough : — 

"March  29,  1891. 

"  This  is  the  last  time  probably  that  I  shall  write  to 
you  from  Marlborough  College.  It  is  Good  Friday; 
and,  indeed,  it  has  been  a  blessed  day  for  me.  I  was 
more  struck  with  Bell's  sermon  to-day  than  ever  before. 
I  think  it  was  unmistakably  the  best  I  have  heard  him 
preach.  The  text,  '  It  is  finished,'  being  the  sixth  of  the 
Seven  Words  spoken  on  the  Cross,  and  coming  at  the  end 
of  His  term  on  earth  when  He  had  gained  a  triumphant 
victory  over  sin.  Bell  pointed  out  that  Christ  first 
prayed  for  His  murderers,  '  Father  forgive  them ' ; 
second,  He  spoke  to  the  thief,  'To-day  shalt  thou  be 
with  Me  in  paradise ' ;  third,  He  entrusted  His  mother  to 
St.  John ;  fourth,  in  bitter  agony  that  we  cannot  realise, 
He  uttered  those  words,  '  My  God,  My  God,  why  hast 
Thou  forsaken  Me  ? ' ;  fifth,  He  gave  His  only  one  wish 
for  Himself,  '  I  thirst ' ;  sixth,  the  triumphant  '  It  is 
finished.'  He  told  that  God  had  endowed  us  with 
almost  godlike  powers  of  discerning  between  good  and 
evil,  and  so  we  were  given  a  free  choice,  for  so  it  seemed 
good  to  Him,  and  hence  our  great  responsibility.  Then 
this  afternoon  Pollock  had  us  up  into  his  rooms,  and 
gave  the  whole  Sixth  a  confidential  talk ;  first  pointing 
out  what  atonement  and  the  forgiveness  of  sins  really 
meant ;  then  going  on  to  read  from  different  books  how 
we  live  in  Him,  John  xv. ;  then  giving  us  hints  (excel- 
lent hints)  as  to  when  we  might  be  serving  Christ  in  the 
trivial  matters  of  life." 

The  following,  written  from  a  tutor's  house,  where  he 
went  in  the  spring  before  going  up  to  Trinity  College, 


i4  D.  M.  THORNTON 

Cambridge,  shows  that  his  missionary  interest  had 
already  begun,  and  in  his  school  letters  there  had 
been  clear  indications  of  the  same  thing: — 

"  Jan.  18,  1892. 

"  I  want  everyone's  prayers  very  much.  God  was 
merciful  enough  to  prepare  me  for  the  Parsee  religion 
by  having  one  companion  a  Parsee.  Now,  who  could 
have  thought  it,  can  it  be  anything  but  providential, 
two  others  have  come  this  term  ?  One  seems  longing  to 
get  the  light,  and  true  light,  and  I  believe  he  will  really 
find  Christ ;  the  second  is  very  well  read  in  the  Koran 
and  all  kinds  of  religion,  and  I  want  all  the  power  God 
can  give  me  to  show  him  Christ.  He  perfectly  admits 
that  Christianity  is  far  and  away  the  most  prosperous 
religion  now,  but  he  thinks  it  fell  on  good  ground  in 
going  westwards  at  first,  and  I  daresay  he  is  right,  but 
that  is  God's  will,  no  doubt.  At  present  he  thinks  I 
would  have  him  take  a  great  deal  in  faith  in  order  to 
believe.  But  enough  of  this  to-night.  I  see  now  how 
far  better  it  was  for  me  not  to  go  to  Pembroke." 

Thus  did  he  prepare  for  the  University.  Just  before 
going  up  to  Cambridge  he  had  a  further  religious 
experience  of  definite  importance: — 

"  I  began  to  learn  victory's  secret  from  one  who  had 
learned  it  from  George  Grubb.  Selfishness  and  impurity 
were  the  besetting  sins.  Over  both  of  these  God  showed 
me  how  to  win  His  victories  at  Cromer  in  1892.  But 
this  was  testimony  to  fact,  not  revelation  of  Person." 

How  this  revelation  of  the  Person  came  to  him  one 
year  later  will  be  seen  in  the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER    II 

CAMBRIDGE:    THE   STUDENT  CHRISTIAN   MOVEMENT — 
IN  THE   RANKS 

"  MY  grandfather,  Spencer  Thornton,  was  traced  to  have 
been  the  means  of  the  conversion  of  thirty  under- 
graduates when  at  Cambridge.  I  went  up,  knowing 
this,  to  do  likewise,  D.V."  (From  Autobiography.) 

These  words  are  a  very  fit  introduction  to  Thornton's 
life  at  Cambridge.  It  was  fundamentally,  and  all 
through,  a  life  of  complete  devotion  to  Christ,  and  to 
the  business  of  influencing  men  for  Christ  and  for  the 
cause  of  Christ.  It  had  phases.  There  was  develop- 
ment in  his  religious  life,  both  on  its  emotional  and 
intellectual  side,  as  well  as  in  the  ideal  to  which  he 
looked.  But  the  development  never  occasioned  the 
least  cooling  of  his  fiery  devotion  to  Christ,  and  the 
work  of  influencing  men  for  Christ  and  His  cause. 

The  reader  of  this  biography  should,  however,  be 
aware  at  the  outset  of  certain  facts  concerning  univer- 
sity life,  and  especially  Christian  life  at  the  universities. 
Up  to  the  time  of  Dr.  Johnson  the  religious  life  of 
undergraduates  was  considered  as  sufficiently  expressed 
in  the  frequent  chapel  services  and  similar  "  means  of 

15 


1 6  D.  M.  THORNTON 

grace,"  according  to  the  pious  intentions  of  the  great 
founders.  And  noble  results  justified  those  intentions. 
But  the  evangelical  revival  of  the  Wesleys,  which 
taught  English  Christendom  to  beware  of  identifying 
the  conventional  religious  life  with  the  real  experience 
of  religion,  had  its  inevitable  effect  on  the  religious 
life  of  the  universities  too,  and  made  earnest  men  feel 
the  insufficiency  of  the  prescribed  services  alone,  and 
the  absolute  necessity  for  liberty  of  voluntary  associa- 
tion in  religious  life  and  effort.  And  from  the  time 
when  Dr  Johnson  wrote  of  certain  Methodist  under- 
graduates "  who  would  not  desist  from  publicly  praying 
and  preaching  (Sir,  they  were  examined,  and  proved 
to  be  mighty  ignorant  fellows  !),"  from  that  time  it 
may  be  said  that  there  were  always  men  at  Oxford 
and  Cambridge  who,  in  conscious  devotion  to  their 
Master,  Jesus  Christ,  drew  together  for  mutual  inspira- 
tion, and  encouraged  each  other  to  influence  other 
undergraduates  along  the  same  lines. 

Cambridge  was  the  great  and  traditional  centre  for 
this  voluntary  religious  life  and  association  among 
undergraduates.  The  great  Charles  Simeon  was  the 
first  of  a  succession  of  senior  men  who  set  themselves 
to  promote  and  encourage  this  movement;  and  the 
still  greater  Henry  Martyn — significantly  a  "foreign" 
missionary — was  one  of  its  most  splendid  and  also 
most  typical  results.  The  first  organised  association 
among  undergraduates  was  that  at  Cambridge,  called 
to-day  the  "  Cambridge  Inter  -  Collegiate  Christian 
Union." 


CAMBRIDGE  17 

This  Christian  movement  in  the  universities  always 
showed  itself  sensitive  to  great  religious  movements 
outside  the  universities.  And  the  great  missionary 
revival  of  the  eighties,  which  was  itself  due  to  deeper 
causes,  powerfully  moved  Cambridge  life  and  was 
reactively  influenced  by  it.  The  offering  of  the 
famous  "  Cambridge  Seven "  for  missionary  work  in 
China  gave  a  foreign  -  missionary  impetus  to  the 
Christian  movement  among  the  undergraduates  in  the 
university  which  has  been  characteristic  ever  since. 

The  movement  spread  to  some  other  universities, 
and  was  met  by  one  from  the  North,  analogous  to  it, 
though  different  in  its  ethos,  led  by  Henry  Drummond, 
far  famous  for  his  memorable  work  in  the  Scottish 
universities.  These  two  streams,  with  their  similarities 
and  differences,  met  and  rolled  on  together.  Those 
were  stirring  times. 

A  similar  Christian  movement  had  been  going  on 
in  the  American  colleges ;  and  here,  moreover,  an 
association  of  "  Student  Volunteers "  had  been  formed, 
that  is,  university  men  who  felt  the  claims  of  the 
foreign  field  so  keenly  that  they  banded  themselves 
together  by  signing  a  declaration  signifying  their 
intention  of  becoming  missionaries. 

This  "  Student  Volunteer  "  Movement,  as  we  may  at 
once  call  it,  found  it  very  easy  to  strike  root  into 
the  prepared  soil  of  the  British  universities;  and  in 
1892  the  British  "Student  Volunteer  Missionary 
Union"  (S.V.M.U.)  was  formed,  and  immediately 
nourished.  Floruit,  floret.  It  was  accompanied  both 


1 8  D.  M.  THORNTON 

in  America  and  in  Britain  by  an  organisation  to  plant 
Christian  Unions  after  the  manner  of  that  at  Cam- 
bridge, in  all  universities  and  colleges.  These  unions 
were  banded  together  into  one  National  Union,  now 
called  "The  Student  Christian  Movement  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland";  and  this  Movement,  and  the 
other  National  Movement  of  America,  the  Continent, 
the  British  Colonies,  India,  Japan,  etc.  (for  the  stream 
rolled  onward  thither  also),  were  afterwards  federated 
into  one  grand  organisation,  "The  World's  Student 
Christian  Federation." 

This  extraordinary  evolution  was  not  yet  complete 
when  Thornton  went  up  to  Cambridge  in  1892.  But 
it  is  because  Thornton  became  one  of  the  most 
outstanding  figures  in  the  Student  Movement,  first 
at  Cambridge  itself,  and  afterwards  in  its  national 
and  world- wide  aspects,  that  this  preliminary  sketch 
had  to  be  given. 

Just  at  the  time  when  he  went  up  to  Cambridge, 
however,  the  Christian  Union  of  that  university  was 
comparatively  out  of  touch  with  the  larger  movement 
that  had  begun  in  Britain,  and  especially  in  Scotland, 
though  there  were  already  some  "  Student  Volunteers  " 
among  the  undergraduates.  Consequently  we  find 
Thornton  throwing  himself  hotly  into  the  local 
Christian  life  and  work,  but  not  yet  in  touch  with 
the  new  ideals  and  methods  which  that  movement 
was  to  bring  with  it.  He  and  others  like  him  found 
plenty  to  do,  however.  Undergraduate  spiritual  life 
was  fostered  by  "College  Bible  Readings"  and 


CAMBRIDGE  19 

meetings  for  prayer.  The  missionary  side  was 
represented  by  weekly  missionary  addresses.  The 
great  evangelical  tradition  of  the  duty  of  winning 
others  for  Christ  and  for  service,  as  we  have  seen 
in  the  first  paragraph  of  this  chapter,  had  not  been 
forgotten ;  though  the  extent  of  its  observance  varied 
with  the  intensity  of  Christian  life  in  the  place, 
and  the  'methods  of  its  observance  varied  with  the 
temperamental  and  theological  cast  of  men's  minds. 
As  in  all  similiar  associations  there  were  members 
fervid,  lukewarm,  and  cold ;  broad  and  narrow  in 
outlook;  extravagant,  extreme,  moderate,  and — very 
moderate.  In  youth's  me'Ue  every  temperament  was 
found,  and  constant  was  the  clash  of  views  and 
of  methods.  The  more  life,  the  more  ferment. 
New  things  were  ardently  welcomed  by  some, 
suspected  by  others;  and  frequent  was  the  clash  of 
the  Progressives  and  Conservatives  of  those  days. 
The  national  Student  Christian  Movement,  to  which 
the  University  Christian  Union  was  from  the  first 
affiliated,  was  one  of  these  new  things,  promoters 
of  those  discords  which  "rushed  in  but  that  harmony 
might  ensue";  and  Thornton,  ever  the  stormy -petrel 
of  advance,  played  a  very  prominent  part  in  these 
developments.  It  will  be  sufficient  to  touch  thus 
summarily  on  this  aspect  of  Cambridge  Christian  life, 
on  which  little  emphasis  will  hereafter  be  laid, 
though  it  had  a  very  important  influence  on 
Thornton's  career. 

The   first  year   of   Thornton's   Cambridge   life   was 


20  D.  M.  THORNTON 

therefore,  marked  by  extraordinary  fervour  within 
and  without,  by  ardent  efforts  in  the  direction 
indicated  in  the  first  paragraph  of  this  chapter. 
Having  been  in  residence  for  a  term  before  actually 
entering  Trinity,  he  had,  he  wrote,  "  got  to  know  lots 
of  men  and  the  ways  about  Cambridge,"  and  this 
gave  him  "a  lift  above  other  freshmen;  and  they 
naturally  looked  to  me."  His  enthusiasm  for  Christ's 
gospel  and  cause  was  very  glowing.  It  was  intensified 
by  a  Boys'  Mission  in  the  Christmas  vacation  under 
Mr.  Edwin  Arrowsmith,  and  again  by  Mr.  George 
Grubb's  visit  to  Cambridge  in  the  succeeding  term. 
Yet  more  was  to  come ;  what  he  himself  called  "  the 
Vision  of  the  Person,"  he  had  not  yet  experienced. 

Already  the  missionary  interest  was  well  to  the  front; 
he  followed  up  his  interest  in  the  Parsi  students  in 
London  by  a  similar  interest  in  Indian  students  at 
Cambridge.  He  joined  one  of  the  "Bands"  for 
missionary  study.  He  regularly  attended  the  weekly 
missionary  meeting  of  the  Cambridge  Missionary  Union, 
and  was  proposed  for  the  secretaryship  of  the  Union 
for  the  ensuing  year.  He  wrote  an  article  for  a 
magazine  on  Uganda,  with  the  prayer  "O  God,  may 
it  create  an  interest  in  many  boys  for  Uganda." 
In  all  of  these  ways  we  see  coming  events  casting 
their  shadow  before. 

A  peculiarly  refreshing  Thornton  anecdote,  illus- 
trating the  fearlessness  and  directness  of  his  methods 
and  their  quaint  unconventionality,  is  told  by  his  college 
friend,  the  present  Royal  Astronomer  of  Ireland — 


CAMBRIDGE  21 

"He  began  operations  by  calling  on  all  the  Indians 
he  could  hear  of;  hunting  up  Oriental  names  in 
the  list  of  University  men,  and  getting  each  victim 
to  betray  the  names  and  addresses  of  more  of  his 
compatriots.  Many  of  these  calls  involved  breaches  of 
that  rule  of  Cambridge  etiquette,  which  ordains  that  a 
freshman  may  not  commence  an  unsolicited  acquaintance 
with  men  of  higher  standing ;  but  Thornton  was  never 
a  stickler  for  etiquette;  and  the  Indians,  though  evidently 
puzzled,  received  him  (or  us,  for  I  went  with  him  once 
or  twice)  very  well. 

"  The  ground  being  thus  prepared,  he  sent  invitations 
to  all  his  new  friends,  and  to  an  equal  number  of 
Christian  Union  men,  to  come  to  his  lodgings  in  Silver 
Street,  one  Sunday  after  lunch.  When  I  arrived,  I 
found  the  little  sitting-room  full  of  men,  with  Thornton 
beaming  introductions :  '  Ahmed  Ali,  let  me  introduce 
Smith  of  Trinity:  Mr.  Ahmed  Ali  of  Christ's.  The 
room  is  rather  full,  isn't  it  ?  but  we  shall  be  going  a 
little  walk  presently.'  Then  the  whole  scheme  broke  on 
us;  which  was  nothing  more  or  less  than  that  the 
entire  company  was  to  do  the  '  Grantchester  grind '  (the 
traditional  Sunday  afternoon  walk  of  University  men), 
paired  like  the  young  ladies  of  a  school  out  for  an 
airing,  each  Indian  being  mated  with  a  white  man. 
The  grotesque  effect  of  the  procession — which  sent  street 
boys  into  convulsions  before  we  were  ten  yards  from 
the  doorstep — was  heightened  by  the  impressive  stature 
and  animated  appearance  of  the  last  couple,  who  were 
Thornton  himself  and  a  gigantic  smiling  negro  from 
Jamaica." 

But  he  never  shirked  the  far  more  testing  work  of 
influencing  his  fellows  of  his  own  race.  The  same 
friend  who  narrates  the  experience  just  narrated  tells 
how  Thornton,  on  the  first  meeting  with  him,  while 
returning  from  the  boats  to  college,  led  the  subject 


22  D.  M.  THORNTON 

round  to  religion,  and  triumphantly  captured  his  man 
for  the  College  Bible  Reading.  He  did  not  shrink 
from  speaking  for  Christ  in  the  open-air,  and  here 
again  there  are  stories  characteristic  of  his  burning 
earnestness  and  total  unconventionally.  Witness  the 
following  account  by  his  friend,  the  Rev.  G.  T.  Manley, 
Senior  Wrangler  in  1893: — 

"Once  at  Hyde  Park  Corner  (in  Cambridge)  the 
attention  of  a  huge  crowd  was  riveted  by  his  suddenly 
seizing  a  child  of  a  year  old  out  of  its  mother's  arms 
and  holding  it  shoulder  high  with  the  exclamation, 
'  Except  ye  be  converted  and  become  as  little  children, 
ye  shall  in  no  wise  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven.' 
On  other  occasions  he  spoke  to  the  folk  after  the  open- 
air  and  got  them  to  kneel  under  the  old  tree  that  stands 
there,  and  offer  themselves  to  God  there  in  prayer. 

"  God  gave  him  two  faculties  which  made  him  unlike 
other  men.  On  the  positive  side  he  had  a  strength  of 
will  and  purpose  which  some  mistook  for  wilfumess, 
but  which  interpreted  itself  to  him  as  the  Divine  '/ 
'must'  Thus,  once  an  idea  had  rooted  itself  in  his  mind 
there  was  no  more  questioning  except  as  to  how  every 
obstacle  was  to  be  overcome.  The  other  faculty  was  an 
unconventionality,  and  almost  a  lack  of  humour,  in  the 
way  in  which  he  took  most  seriously  a  course  which 
others  would  have  shrank  from  as  being  extraordinary 
to  the  verge  of  ridicule.  To  him  the  kneeling  down  in 
the  road  pleading  for  a  soul's  salvation  was  no  extra- 
ordinary act,  but  a  simple  recognition  of  the  eternal 
issue.  In  the  same  way  once  in  a  village  open-air 
service  he  rushed  into  a  public-house  to  speak  to  the 
people.  '  We  must  get  at  them,  and  they  won't  come  to 
us,'  was  his  motto.  So  in  he  went,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
was  talking  to  the  girl  behind  the  bar  about  her  soul. 
To  any  other  there  might  have  been  something  more 
than  ludicrous  about  this,  but  not  so  with  D.  M.  T. 


CAMBRIDGE  23 

The  girl  also  was  carried  away  by  the  natural  earnest- 
ness of  her  appellant,  and  in  a  few  minutes  was  kneeling 
down  behind  the  counter  in  prayer  to  God.  On  another 
occasion  a  certain  Queen's  man  was  known  to  be  taking 
part  in  an  open-air  service  on  Parker's  Piece,  and  some 
agnostics  passed  a  note  round  the  College  Hall  that 
'X.  Y.  will  hold  forth  on  Parker's  Piece  at  8.30  this 
evening.'  The  result  was  a  goodly  attendance  of  scoffers, 
who  interrupted  the  said  speaker  with  audible  remarks 
of  an  uncomplimentary  nature.  D.  M.  T.  to  the  rescue ! 
Up  he  marches  to  the  objectors:  'Look  here!  If  you 
fellows  have  no  caring  for  your  own  souls,  might  you 
not  have  some  for  the  souls  of  these  people.  They  are 
anxious  to  have  their  souls  saved,  is  it  gentlemanly  on 
your  part  to  prevent  them  having  the  opportunity  ? ' 
This  unexpected  line  of  attack  carried  them  with  him. 
They  were  silent  through  the  service,  and  then  asked 
him  back  to  their  rooms  to  open  out  to  him  their  doubts 
and  difficulties.  His  downright  earnestness  and  uncon- 
ventionality  carried  the  day." 

So  passed  his  first  year.  Naturally  he  became  a 
marked  man  ;  such  an  uncompromising  position  brought 
with  it  "  separation."  How  far  this  should  be  carried, 
or  in  what  way  Christian  separation  should  be  expressed, 
is  a  matter  about  which  men  continually  differed  in  the 
University,  as  they  have  done  and  will  do  outside  it. 
Thornton's  attitude  at  Cambridge  was  radical ;  and 
though  he  tempered  it  afterwards  he  never  reversed  it, 
nor  changed  his  mind,  essentially,  about  it.  He  re- 
garded an  attitude  of  separateness  essential  till  the  very 
end,  and  years  later  wrote  from  Egypt — 

"  I  pray  God  to  keep  alive  a  band  of  Puritans,  for 
they  are  the  ones  that  make  the  best  missionaries  all 
the  world  over.  .  .  .  Surely  what  we  want  now  is  more 


24  D.  M.  THORNTON 

fire.  I  do  not  see  much  sign  of  it,  the  fire  that  comes 
from  tribulation  and  persecution  I  mean.  Would  that 
the  Union  had  not  such  an  easy  time  of  it  now !  Let  us 
promote  a  foreign  Campaign  again.  Where  are  the 
prophets  with  the  vision  of  the  world's  need  ?  Let 
them  arise  and  call  the  movement  to  go  forward.  .  .  ." 

Not  that  he  had  any  sour  disinclination  to  mix  with 
his  fellow-men  and  engage  in  their  pursuits.  Quite 
the  reverse:  he  had  social  gifts  and  propensities;  he 
had  a  fine  voice;  he  joined  the  First  Trinity  Rowing 
Club,  and  was  chosen  to  row  in  one  of  the  Lent  boats. 
.  .  .  But  his  subordination  of  all  things  to  the  single 
aim  was  absolute. 

And  in  his  first  Lent  term  he  was  forbidden  to  row  in 
the  boats  again  owing  to  a  breakdown  of  health.  This 
illness  was  a  landmark.  It  completely  broke  his  con- 
nection with  the  Rowing  Club,  and  in  the  weeks  of 
enforced  inactivity,  as  the  busy  stream  of  University 
life  rushed  past  his  sickroom,  he  thought  deeply  over 
the  plan  of  his  future  life-work.  To  the  friends  who 
came  to  see  him  when  convalescent  he  freely  confessed 
the  change  in  his  outlook,  and  poured  out  his  soul  in 
far-reaching  designs  for  the  evangelisation  of  the  world. 
"This  illness  has  made  a  great  difference  to  my  mis- 
sionary plans,"  he  said  to  one  not  very  sympathetic 
boating-man  who  called.  The  other  made  an  irreverent 
reply  about  the  advantages  which  the  "  niggers  "  would 
gain  from  the  circumstance.  Thornton  took  up  the 
idea  quite  gravely,  and  astonished  the  company  by 
citing  various  cases  of  apostolic  heroes — St.  Augustine, 
Raymond  Lull,  John  Wesley,  Henry  Martyn,  and  so 


CAMBRIDGE  25 

forth — whose  careers  had  been  profoundly   influenced 
by  apparently  trivial  incidents  ! 

And  his  reading  ?  This  is  the  best  place  to  say  a  few 
words  on  that  subject,  which  has  a  great  bearing  on  the 
whole  story  of  his  life.  The  friend,  whose  tribute  to 
Thornton's  abilities,  both  natural  and  acquired,  was 
quoted  in  the  Preface,  puts  the  case  like  this — 

"  When  he  came  up  to  Cambridge,  Thornton  had  read 
more  mathematics  than  most  schoolboys,  and  indeed  had 
only  just  missed  an  open  scholarship  at  one  of  the 
Colleges :  at  Trinity,  in  his  first  term,  he  was  sent  to 
the  best  lectures,  and  was  generally  regarded  as  likely 
to  take  a  good  place  in  the  Tripos.  Very  early  in  our 
acquaintance  he  told  me  that  in  this  he  was  being  over- 
rated, that  such  mathematical  knowledge  as  he  possessed 
was  really  the  result  of  good  teaching  rather  than  of 
natural  aptitude,  and  that  he  knew  himself  to  be  incap- 
able of  fulfilling  his  friends'  expectations  of  a  first-class 
degree.  The  truth  of  this  self-estimate  soon  became 
evident :  his  interests  were  in  mankind  rather  than  in 
the  impersonal  field  of  pure  science;  and  his  mind, 
though  vigorous  and  creative,  was  lacking  in  that 
faculty  of  patient  incisive  analysis  on  which  success  in 
the  mathematical  and  physical  sciences  is  so  largely 
dependent.  But  I  believe  that  he  always  keenly  felt 
the  disappointment  which  his  comparative  failure  in  the 
schools  must  bring  to  a  home  circle ;  and  for  a  term  or 
so  struggled  bravely  against  the  inevitable  descent. 

"  One  of  the  decisions  to  which  he  came  at  this  time 
[the  illness  in  his  second  term]  concerned  his  studies. 
It  was  now  quite  clear  that  he  would  never  be  a  dis- 
tinguished mathematician ;  and  he  faced  and  settled  the 
question  of  how  much  time  and  energy  should  be  given 
up  to  the  Tripos.  One  of  the  strongest  points  in  his 
nature  was  that  he  always  took  up  the  problem  of  an 
unsatisfactory  situation  in  good  time,  and  never  let 


26  D.  M.  THORNTON 

things  drift.  He  decided  to  do  just  so  much  work  as 
would  earn  an  Honours  degree  without  discredit,  and 
for  the  rest  to  devote  himself  to  preparation  for  a  life- 
work  in  the  mission-field.  ...  I  never  questioned  the 
wisdom  of  this  choice.  .  .  .  Thornton,  from  the  time 
that  he  surrendered  his  mathematical  ambitions,  became 
an  undisputed  leader  in  Christian  work." 

The  fact  is,  his  education  came  by  other  channels  than 
through  the  Mathematical  Tripos.  His  wide  interests, 
and  intense  power  for  reading  and  assimilating,  fully 
made  up  for  failure  in  the  schools.  He  saw  that  the 
critical  circumstances  at  Cambridge  demanded  some 
man,  or  men,  to  give  up  very  much  time  to  doing  and 
organising  Christian  work.  As  he  himself  said, 
"  During  my  first  year  I  became  conscious  I  could  lead 
other  men  " :  and  deliberately  he  set  himself  to  do  the 
work.  He  himself  summed  up  the  matter  in  later 
years  as  follows  : — "  I  believe  that  two  or  three  men  have 
to  sacrifice  themselves  in  a  (College)  generation."  In 
other  words,  this  sort  of  career  must  be  considered 
strictly  exceptional.  Thornton,  being  exceptional,  was 
the  exception.  Wisdom  is  justified  of  all  her  children. 

He  thus  summed  up  his  first  year — 

"  It  was  in  London  that  the  desire  for  souls  was  born. 
The  autumn  of  1892  brought  with  it  my  first  continued 
desires  for  purity  of  heart.  During  my  first  year  (at 
Cambridge)  I  became  conscious  I  could  lead  other  men, 
but  had  no  power  to  do  it.  Never  shall  I  cease  to  be 
thankful  that  I  got  to  Keswick  that  summer.  For  God 
showed  me  that  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  was 
needed  in  my  life.  I  became  conscious  of  His  power, 
and  proved  it  at  once  at  Llandudno." 


CAMBRIDGE  27 

It  was  at  Keswick,  in  his  first  long  vacation,  that 
this  momentous  experience  was  given  him.  Like  many 
another  undergraduate,  after  his  first  year  at  College, 
he  went  down  thrilled  with  the  new  experiences — 
intellectual,  social,  spiritual  —  that  had  come  into  his 
life,  yet  filled  with  a  yearning  for  something  more. 
He  determined  to  spend  some  of  the  vacation  in  doing 
Christian  work  among  the  children  who  spend  the 
summer  in  the  watering-places  round  our  coasts.1  While 
he  was  engaged  in  this  work,  a  friend  urged  him  to  go 
and  attend  the  Keswick  Convention.  This  Convention 
for  the  deepening  of  the  spiritual  life  was  preceded 
by  a  conference  organised  by  the  Student  Volunteer 
Missionary  Union,  which  was  devoted  to  foreign 
missions.  The  latter  greatly  intensified  and  fixed 
his  enthusiasm  for  foreign  missions,  which  burned 
on  to  the  day  of  his  death.  But  it  was  at  the  former 
that  he  gained  what  he  chiefly  needed — the  spiritual 
apprehension  of  the  living  Person  of  Christ.  At 
one  of  the  evenings  of  the  Convention  he  went  to 
hear  certain  speakers  well  known  in  the  religious 
world — 

1  Thornton  was  incomparable  at  this  sort  of  work.  His  missionary 
maps  on  the  sand  will  never  be  forgotten.  An  army  of  young  workers 
would  be  organised.  Some  country  like  India  would  be  traced  on  the 
smooth  sand  in  pebbles.  The  rivers  and  lakes  were  put  in  in  green  sea- 
weed ;  the  Himalayas  in  black  seaweed,  topped  with  salt  (for  snow  !) : 
and  the  towns  and  mission-stations  indicated  by  sand-pies.  Then  the 
missionary  problem  of  the  country  would  be  "demonstrated"  to  the 
crowds  of  young  people,  with  a  simplicity  and  vivacity  which,  as  in 
Faraday's  lectures  on  a  candle,  were  really  the  result  of  a  complete  grasp 
of  the  subject. 


28  D.  M.  THORNTON 

"  It  was  crowded  and  stifling,"  he  writes ;  "  the 
meeting  began.  H.  B.  Macartney  rose  up  full  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  He  electrified  everyone  in  a  word,  so  it 
seemed  to  me.  This  is  something  of  what  he  said : 
'  Now  it  seems  to  me  what  all  we  people  want  to-night 
is  to  get  into  the  presence  of  God  at  once.  If  we  wish 
to  speak  about  God  the  Holy  Ghost,  let  us  believe 
in  Him  and  realise  Him.  Shall  we  all  say,  "  I  believe  in 
the  Holy  Ghost."  We  all  did  ...  I  had  confessed  my 
faith  in  Him,  and  He  came  in  all  His  fulness  into  my 
soul.  Immediately  I  seemed  to  see  Jesus  .  .  .'  The 
truth  seemed  so  easy  now,  'We  in  Christ  and  Christ 
in  us.'  No  sooner  had  he  finished  than  I  felt  impelled 
to  testify.  So  out  I  went,  and  as  the  door  at  the  side 
was  locked,  I  jumped  out  of  the  top  of  the  window. 
Down  into  the  market-place  !  '  Let  me  speak  to-night.' 
And  I  did.  And  so  the  life  in  Him  began  in  deed." 

His  second  year  at  Cambridge  was  a  three-times 
intensified  repetition  of  his  first.  During  that  year  the 
ferment  in  the  Union  was  prodigious,  and  Thornton,  of 
course,  headed  the  Extreme  Left.  His  fame  penetrated 
to  Oxford,  and  stimulated  men  there.  He  sold  a  good 
deal  of  his  furniture  and  ornaments,  and  he  ate  starva- 
tion lunches,  in  order  to  have  money  for  the  work  of 
God.  He  evangelised  furiously.  His  rooms  became  a 
storm-centre  for  prayer.  His  work  among  individuals 
was  more  daring  and  successful  than  ever.  God  was  in 
all  his  thoughts.  .  .  . 

Youthful  excesses  ?  A  youth  that  is  not  excessf ul 
rarely  makes  a  man  who  is  successful.  As  Lord 
Wolseley  said  of  Gordon,  "  If  he  is  mad,  I  wish  that 
more  younger  officers  of  the  British  Army  were  as  mad 
as  he."  It  would  be  very  dangerous,  in  the  light  of 


CAMBRIDGE  29 

his  whole  life  as  we  see  it  now,  to  criticise  this  part  of 
his  life  as  people  saw  it  then.  It  is  safer  to  say, 
without  recommending  Thornton  as  a  complete  model 
to  the  Christian  man  at  the  University  to-day,  that  his 
fearlessness  as  to  men's  opinion  of  him  is  to  be  entirely 
coveted.  Better  a  thousand  times  effective  peculiarity 
than  ineffective  ordinariness. 

And  now  occurs  his  first  introduction  to  the  wider 
"  Student  Movement "  which  so  greatly  determined  the 
remainder  of  his  career. 

"June  13th  [1894]. — Round  to  Dodderidge's ;  meet 
J.  R.  Mott,  an  American.  Settle  for  a  meeting  in  my 
rooms  on  Thursday  morning,  14th,  10-11  a.m.  Mott 
gives  us  an  address  on  the  progress  of  the  Student 
Volunteer  Missionary  Union  in  America  .  .  .  which  is 
very  helpful." 

J.  R.  Mott  became  afterwards  his  lifelong  friend,  and 
a  constant  source  of  inspiration.  He  was  the  leader  of 
the  Student  Movement  in  America,  and  already  had 
dreams  of  a  world- wide  movement  which  have  been  so 
grandly  fulfilled.  The  Students'  Conference  at  Keswick 
that  summer — the  second  of  the  annual  series — was  a 
more  momentous  affair  than  the  previous  one,  which 
had  failed  to  impress  Thornton.1  Mr.  Mott  and  his 
fellow-countryman,  Mr.  R.  E.  Speer — par  mobile 
fratrum  —  had  come  over,  and  a  mighty  effort  was 
to  be  made  to  deepen  and  to  broaden  the  Christian 
movement  in  British  universities  and  colleges. 

In  particular,  the  watchword  adopted  by  the  American 

1  What  had  impressed  him  was  the  Keswick  Convention,  not  the 
Students'  Conference  at  Keswick,  as  has  been  explained. 


30  D.  M.  THORNTON 

"  Student  Volunteer  "  Movement  was  to  be  preached  for 
the  first  time  in  this  country.  It  has  since  become 
famous.  It  became  the  animating  force  in  Thornton's 
life— 

THE  EVANGELISATION   OF  THE  WORLD  IN  THIS 
GENERATION. 

The  conference,  and  especially  the  address  in  which 
this  watchword  was,  like  a  challenge,  flung  before  British 
university  and  college  men,  made  an  ineffaceable  impres- 
sion on  Thornton's  sensitive  mind  and  receptive  spirit. 
The  whole  inner  man  suddenly  expanded ;  new  visions 
floated  before  his  astonished  eyes;  horizon  opened  out 
on  horizon;  deep  called  to  deep.  His  flaring  zeal 
steadied  down  into  a  clear,  burning  flame-jet  of 
enthusiasm  for  God  and  His  kingdom,  giving  both 
light  and  heat.  Here  is  his  entry  of  that  momentous 
evening — 

"Speer:  .  .  .  the  address  was  on  the  subject  of  'The 
Evangelisation  of  the  World  in  this  Generation.'  For 
the  first  time  some  ten  of  us  at  least  began  to  realise 
that  we,  individually,  were  responsible  for  this.  It  was 
an  awful  time.  B.  and  I  had  to  get  away  quietly  three 
miles  out  on  the  hills  from  9-12  p.m.  to  let  God  speak 
to  us  face  to  face.  It  was  an  awful  time.  But  then 
came  the  stillness  of  resting  on  Him,  and  casting  this 
world-wide  burden  on  Him." 

We  might  say  that  the  remainder  of  his  career  was 
determined  by  the  enunciation  of  that  watchword  that 
evening :  as  he  later  put  it,  in  both  noble  and  truthful 
words,  "  This  glorious  watchword  which  has  become  our 
own,  and  now  dominates  our  lives." 


CAMBRIDGE  3 1 

In  connection  then  with  the  above,  the  following 
extract  from  a  letter  of  his  is  calculated  to  strengthen 
our  faith  in  God,  and  in  the  fact  which  is  called 
individual  guidance : — 

"July  19,  1894. 

"Just  a  line  to  say  that  you  may  as  well  be  very 
definitely  in  prayer  as  to  God's  will  for  you  and  me  for 
this  next  month.  I  have  been  repeatedly  asked,  and 
have  repeatedly  refused  to  go  to  Keswick,  never  enter- 
taining the  idea  of  the  Convention  proper.  But  now, 
twice  to-day  again,  I  have  been  pressed  to  represent 
Christian  work  of  the  past  year  there  at  our  Students' 
Conference,  July  30-Aug.  3.  It  seemed  at  first  so 
clearly  the  Lord's  will  to  stay  here,  but  now  this,  and 
the  fact  that  on  Saturday  next  my  coach  finishes  the 
first  part  of  his  coaching  here,  it  seems  a  leading  to 
make  the  break  then.  .  .  .  Anyhow,  I  may  as  well  say 
that  I  am  waiting  for  God's  clear  guidance  all  round." 

Thornton's  third  year  at  Cambridge  was  one  of 
increasing  devotion  to  the  missionary  cause  under  the 
new  stimulus  of  his  touch  with  the  wider  college 
movement  in  Britain  and  beyond  the  seas,  and  the 
Student  Volunteer  Missionary  Union,  the  declaration 
of  which  he  had  signed : — "  It  is  my  purpose,  if  God 
permit,  to  become  a  foreign  missionary."  He  did  not 
improve  away  his  old  methods  of  evangelism  and 
individual  man-winning,1  but  he  strove  also  to  intro- 

1  The  following  words  of  a  close  friend  and  comrade  of  those  days  show 
well  how  the  two  aspects  of  activity  were  and  are  harmonised  : — "  It  was 
a  settled  thing  amongst  us  in  those  days  that  there  was  a  course  of 
development  in  the  Christian  life  almost  as  clear  as  in  university  work. 
A  man  must  first  be  interested  in  his  own  college,  and  then  as  he 
developed  a  small  knowledge  of  affairs  and  became  a  college  secretary,  he 


32  D.  M.  THORNTON 

duce  into  the  Cambridge  Christian  Union  the  wider 
vision  and  outlook  which  had  now  come  into  his  own 
life.  And  a  concrete  opportunity  was  to  hand,  to  aid 
him  in  this  endeavour.  The  leaders  of  the  Volunteer 
Missionary  Union  decided  to  hold  a  great  Student 
Missionary  Convention  at  the  beginning  of  the  year 
1896,  the  root  idea  being  to  place  the  world  -  wide 
missionary  call  and  challenge  before  the  colleges  once 
in  'every  college  generation,  i.e.  four  years.  (And  this 
scheme  has  been  carried  out.)  More  than  a  year  was 
to  be  given  to  preparing  for  this  momentous  event, 
and  working  up  delegations  in  all  the  universities  and 
colleges,  and  so  we  find  Thornton,  as  early  as  February 
1895,  aflame  with  energy  and  zeal  in  doing  this  pre- 
paratory work  at  Cambridge.  An  extract  from  a  letter 
of  the  period  will  describe  better  than  anything  else 
his  work  at  this  time — 

"On  Monday,  the  thought  of  having  a  missionary 
conference  at  Liverpool  for,  we  trust,  1000  students,  was 
simmering  in  my  brain.  How  could  we  in  Cambridge 
do  our  part  to  stir  up  interest  ? 

"On  Tuesday  morning  I  get  a  note  from  Eugene 
Stock  asking  me  to  tell  him  what  he  is  to  do.  I 
connect  the  two  together,  and  make  him  out  a 
programme  of  breakfasts  and  teas  and  halls  in  every 

should  be  led  on  to  an  interest  in  inter-collegiate  affairs,  and  from  that  his 
outlook  must  extend  to  other  colleges  until  he  could  look  at  all  the 
student  world  as  one  great  brotherhood  to  be  won  for  Christ,  and  as 
workers  for  His  kingdom.  After  all,  it  was  but  the  application  of  the 
Lord's  order,  beginning  at  Jerusalem  and  going  in  widening  circles  to  the 
whole  field.  The  same  ideas  are  educating  another  generation  to-day 
after  the  same  fashion." 


CAMBRIDGE  33 

college,  I  think  twenty-four  items  in  all,  from  Friday 
evening  at  6  p.m.  to  Monday  evening.  Then  it  occurs 
to  me  that,  Stock  being  here  for  Sunday,  here  was  the 
solution  to  the  question  of  some  profitable  getting 
together  of  our  Student  Volunteers.  We  will  advertise 
the  conference  then,  and  say  Stock  will  give  us  his 
advice,  etc.  Meantime  Butcher  and  I  had  got  out — 
after  much  prayer — this  circular  letter  telling  of  great 
things  bound  to  attract  thought  and  notice,  under  God, 
I  believe.  We  get  Monro,  the  scholar,  to  give  us  the 
quotation  below,  which  means — 

'  Go  ye : 
Now  all  is  at  stake  ! ' 1 

where  Themistocles  is  inspiring  the  Athenians  to  fight 
the  Persians  under  Xerxes,  hundreds  of  thousands  strong. 
This  meeting  was  attended  by  about  seventy  men. 
I  have  seldom  been  to  a  meeting  with  such  power 
present.  Never  in  Cambridge  I  know;  you  see  much 
prayer  had  gone  up  for  it.  But  I  was  looking  further 
ahead.  This  meeting  is  in  Cambridge,  and  as  Cambridge 
is  the  greatest  missionary  centre,  perhaps  in  the  world, 
it  was  right  that  we  should  rise  to  take  an  active  part 
in  this  conference.  We  want  one  thousand  men  there, 
and  at  least  one  hundred  and  fifty  from  Cambridge, 
when  all  the  greatest  authorities  on  missions,  and  all  the 
picked  men  of  all  societies  (that  are  missionary)  in  all 
lands  are  going  to  speak  to  us  there.  We  are  going  to 
pray  and  work  so  that  this  International  Conference 
will  have  delegates  from  America  (several),  from  all 
parts  of  Europe,  from  India,  China,  Japan,  Persia,  and 
Africa,  etc.  You  see  we  must  have  our  eyes  opened. 

"  Last  vacation  I  was  reading  and  thinking  over  this 
awful  responsibility.  '  Is  the  world  to  be  evangelised  ? ' 
Yes,  we  cry,  God  willing,  yes.  Never  let  us  shrink 
from  doing  God's  will.  I  am  under  orders  to  obey  God, 
and  must  obey."  D.  M.  T. 

1  jEschylus,  Persae,  402,  "  a  TraiSes  'EXX^j/wc  ire  vvv  iiirtp  TT&VTWV  ay&v." 

3 


34  I>.  M.  THORNTON 

Thornton  took  his  degree  in  mathematics  with 
Honours  at  the  close  of  this  university  year  (1895). 
He  sums  up  this,  his  last  two  years  as  an  under- 
graduate, as  follows: — 

" '  My  second  year  was  one  of  discipline.  Loneliness, 
hard  work,  constant  dealing  with  souls,  and  a  few  deep 
friendships  were  found.  All  this  prepared  for  the 
revelation  at  Keswick,  1894,  that  I  was  called  to  lead 
.  .  .  the  hearts  of  men.  Never  shall  I  forget  the 
bewilderment  of  that  night  when  I  first  heard  that 
Christians  were  responsible  for  the  evangelisation  of  the 
world  in  this  generation.'  How  to  bring  this  before  the 
minds  of  men  was  the  question !  It  was  evident  that 
wider  sympathies  were  needed." 

Thornton  was  approached  by  the  leaders  of  the 
Student  Movement  to  come  on  to  the  staff  of  the 
Movement,  and  give  up  his  whole  time  to  the 
development  of  work  in  the  colleges.  But  as  it  was 
both  his  and  his  father's  wish  that  he  should  be 
ordained,  the  latter  was  very  averse  to  this  course, 
as  he  feared  it  would  deflect  the  current  of  his  life 
from  the  channel  in  which  it  ought  to,  and  most 
usefully  would,  run.  Thornton  had  a  very  hard 
struggle  over  this,  but  in  the  holiday  in  Norway 
mentioned  above,  he  was  made  to  feel  that  he  was 
being  rightly  guided.  He,  therefore,  came  up  in 
October  to  a  fourth  year,  and  went  to  read  theology 
at  Ridley  Hall.  This  plan  would  give  him  a  year 
for  steady  theological  reading,  and  opportunities  of 
fostering  the  movement  in  Cambridge,  and  elsewhere 
as  well. 


CAMBRIDGE  35 

At  the  conference  at  Keswick  that  summer,  his 
outlook  was  again  widened.  Not  only  did  he  come 
to  a  clearer  and  more  detailed  knowledge  of  the 
extent  of  the  college  world  in  Britain,  but  he  witnessed 
with  awe  and  praise  the  formation  of  the  World's 
Student  Christian  Federation — that  organisation  which 
federated  the  various  national  Movements,  and  so 
crowned  the  whole ;  and  in  an  enthusiastic  letter  he 
describes  Mr.  John  Mott's  "setting  out  on  a  world- 
wide tour  to  make  a  profound  reality  The  World's 
Student  Christian  Federation." 

At  that  time  he  was  put  on  to  a  special  committee 
to  look  after  the  interests  of  the  Theological  Colleges 
in  connection  with  the  Movement.  He  wrote — 

"The  future  of  my  work  seems  harder  than  ever. 
I  see  a  clear  call  to  try  to  enter  some  of  the  Theological 
Colleges  this  year,  and  link  them  on  to  this  great 
Movement.  This  must  be  done  in  the  vacations." 

This  work  in  the  Theological  Colleges  in  connection 
with  the  Movement  became  one  of  great  importance 
as  we  shall  see. 

But  he  felt  that  his  first  and  all-important  duty 
was  to  secure  large  delegations  from  Cambridge  and 
Oxford  to  the  Liverpool  Conference. 

"It  was  easy  then  to  be  misunderstood,  and  the 
only  absorbing  passion  was  to  press  on.  It  was  a 
hard  fight.  Several  earnest  and  influential  men 
at  Cambridge  held  aloof.  They  feared  this  great 
rising  Movement.  Had  we  not  learned  to  pray,  the 
battle  had  been  lost,  and  the  Movement  died  away 


3  6  D.  M.  THORNTON 

and  Oxford  and  Cambridge  taken  no  part.  Then  I 
began  to  see  why  I  was  meant  to  remain  up  here 
this  year." 

It  came  to  his  ears  that  Oxford  Union  was  more 
than  lukewarm  in  the  matter  of  the  Liverpool 
Conference.  "  Thornton  to  the  rescue ! "  Oxford  was 
boarded,  and  the  following  summary  of  the  result, 
from  the  pen  of  its  meteoric  visitant  himself,  is  no 
exaggeration : — 

"  Within  thirty-six  hours,  had  seen  and  prayed  with 
all  the  leading  men  in  Oxford  Christian  work.  Man  by 
man  they  were  won  over ;  their  President  took  five 
hours  alone.  The  result  was  that  they  sent  thirty  men 
to  Liverpool,  whereas  I  doubt  if  six  would  have  gone 
otherwise.  .  .  . 

"Now  came  Cambridge.  Every  college  was  visited 
and  re- visited.  Over  eighty  men  were  got  to  come  to 
Liverpool,  and  we  felt  the  victory  would  come  here  too." 

"Then  came  the  conference  (at  Liverpool)  and  all 
that  meant." 

What  it  meant  will  be  clear  in  the  next  chapter. 
With  this  conference  the  fighter  "  in  the  ranks "  of 
the  Christian  Movement  in  the  colleges  becomes  a 
member  of  its  staff,  one  of  the  directing  and  controlling 
minds  in  that  great  Movement. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE   STUDENT  CHRISTIAN   MOVEMENT — ON  THE  STAFF 

THE  Liverpool  Conference  took  place  in  January  1896, 
and  Thornton  sailed  for  Egypt  in  the  autumn  of 
1898.  Into  these  three  years  he  packed  an  immense 
amount  of  work  of  first-rate  importance.  "  It  is 
incredible,"  writes  the  present  General  Secretary  of 
the  Movement,  "  that  the  official  relationship  lasted 
for  only  two  years.  There  is  hardly  a  department 
of  the  Movement's  work  which  does  not  show  traces 
of  his  influence,  nay,  more,  there  are  at  least  two 
important  departments  which  owe  their  existence  in 
their  present  form  to  him." 

THE  WATCHWORD  AND  THE  MEMORIAL  TO  THE 
CHURCHES. 

The  watchword,  "The  Evangelisation  of  the  World 
in  this  Generation ! "  was  formally  adopted  by  the 
British  Movement  after  the  Liverpool  Conference. 
The  adopting  of  this  watchword  was  not,  of  course, 
a  prophecy  that  the  world  would  be  evangelised  in 
the  present  generation,  but  simply  an  affirmation  that 

37 


38  D.  M.  THORNTON 

it  might  be  and  should  be  so  evangelised  (since  every 
generation  of  Christians  is  responsible  for  evangelising 
the  world  of  that  generation) ;  and  a  self -dedication  to 
a  life  consonant  with  that  faith  and  that  aspiration. 

In  a  letter  written  immediately  after  the  conference, 
after  describing  how  the  Movement,  as  a  result  of 
the  conference,  was  to  be  extended  in  France,  Spain, 
Switzerland,  Holland,  Norway,  Sweden,  Denmark,  and 
Germany,  he  writes — 

"And  as  we  formed  the  executive  report,  we  were 
led  after  much  deliberation  and  prayer  to  adopt  the 
watchword — 

'  The  Evangelisation  of  the  World  in  this  Generation! 

There  were  nine  men  and  three  women  students  who 
discussed  the  matter  from  11  p.m.  to  2  a.m.  The 
words  became  an  inspiration  to  us  all.  We  were 
honouring  God,  and  He  in  turn  set  His  seal  to  the 
work  ..." 

And  he  summed  up  his  impressions  of  the  conference 
later  in  a  terser  fashion — 

"God's  Love:  that  was  the  greatest  message  to  me 
of  the  Liverpool  Conference." 

He  went  back  to  Cambridge,  to  work  harder  than 
ever  at  the  task  of  building  up  work  for  missions  in 
the  university.  He  proposed  and  carried  the  forming 
of  a  central  committee  to  co-ordinate  the  different 
missionary  organisations  of  the  university;  he  worked 
to  secure  new  "Student  Volunteers";  he  circulated 
literature;  and  he  preached  the  watchword.  But, 


THE  STUDENT  CHRISTIAN  MOVEMENT     39 

more  important  than  all  this,  was  a  step  forward 
taken  by  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Student 
Volunteer  Missionary  Union,  of  which  Thornton  was 
a  member,  and,  of  course,  a  leading  spirit.  What  this 
was  will  be  seen  from  the  following  account  by  a 
fellow-member  of  the  Committee,  the  Rev.  G.  T.  Manley, 
whose  words  have  been  already  quoted: — 

"That  watchword  was  in  our  hearts,  and  moved 
and  shaped  our  lives.  It  was  the  result  of  long 
discussions  as  to  the  way  in  which  it  could  be  realised 
that  two  or  three  important  lines  of  work  were 
developed,  in  all  of  which,  as  in  everything  we  did, 
Thornton  took  an  active  part. 

"One  of  these  was  the  'Memorial  to  the  Churches.' 
After  long  discussion  and  prayer  the  Executive  of  the 
Student  Volunteer  Missionary  Union  became  convinced 
that  the  one  way  in  which  the  watchword  might  be 
fulfilled  was  by  getting  the  various  Churches  to  adopt 
it  as  their  own.  We  felt  ourselves  but  infants  (we 
were  not  much  more  in  the  ways  of  the  world),  but 
we  felt  deeply  that  God  had  given  us  this  motto  to 
pass  on  to  others.  Consequently  a  memorial  was 
drawn  up  praying  the  various  Churches  to  adopt  it. 
It  was  drawn  up  in  my  rooms  one  evening.  Dr. 
Rutter  Williamson  was  the  Chairman  of  the  Executive, 
and  he  and  O'Neill  came  to  stay  the  night  with  me, 
and  we  three  and  Thornton  sat  from  about  8  p.m.  till 
4  a.m.  before  the  work  was  done.  Thornton,  of  course, 
had  to  leave  at  midnight  by  college  rules. 

"  The  Lambeth  Conference  of  1897  provided  us  with 
an  immediate  objective,  and  we  prayed  earnestly  and 
planned  strenuously  that  it  might  begin  a  revolution 
upon  the  missionary  problem. 

"Thornton  and  I  were  delegated  to  see  Archbishop 
Temple  upon  the  matter.  We  took  the  draft  of  the 
memorial,  and  he  read  it  through  until  he  came  to  a 


40  D.  M.  THORNTON 

paragraph  which  stated  that  the  first  missionary  of 
the  Church  of  England  after  the  Reformation  was 
in  the  nineteenth  century.  'That's  not  true,'  was  his 
characteristic  remark.  He  promised  kindly  to  take 
the  matter  up,  saying,  'I  only  hope  you'll  get  the 
Bishops  to  take  it  up.  I've  been  trying  to  move 
them  for  the  past  ten  years,  but  they  are  hard  to 
move.'  The  Bishops  did  not  adopt  the  watchword 
as  a  practical  programme,  but  the  conference  received 
the  memorial  with  sympathy,  and  patted  the  Student 
Volunteers  upon  the  back. 

"It  was  a  great  disappointment." 

Thornton's  own  observation  on  this  memorable 
interview  with  Dr.  Temple  is  as  follows: — 

"Temple  accepts  our  watchword  as  an  aim  to  put 
before  the  Church,  and  a  possibility.  He  will  bring 
our  appeal  before  the  assembly  at  Lambeth,  and 
let  the  Bishops  hear  it  anyhow.  He  thinks  they 
will  be  too  old  to  adopt  it  as  policy,  as  most  of 
them  are  over  fifty  and  have  not  a  generation  to 
live.  He  intimated  to  us  that  we  had  a  call  to  draw 
together  Christian  forces.  And  added,  '  You  may  be 
able  to  rouse  the  Church  but  ...  I  can't.'  What 
a  confession !  and  what  an  inspiration !  And  now  to 
prayer." 

In  April  he  wrote — 

"The  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel 
want  a  deputation  of  Student  Volunteers  for  the 
17th,  to  present  to  them  the  memorial  before  full 
committee.  This  is  an  answer  to  prayer,  and  a 
triumph.  We  shall  yet  see  the  whole  Church  moved 
to  a  great  advance.  We  must  expect  this." 

A  great  opportunity  was  given  him  that  autumn 
of  bringing  forward  this  subject  in  a  prominent  way. 
He  was  asked  to  read  a  paper  at  the  Church  Congress 


Copyright 


D.  M.  THORNTON. 

S.V.M.U.  Days. 


Elliot!  d-  Fry 


at  Shrewsbury.     Here   is  his  lively  account  of  what 
took  place — 

"Three  things  were  in  my  favour,  and  undoubtedly 
did  secure  the  interest  of  that  great  and  representative 
audience — 

(1)  "The  Birmingham  Daily  Post  was  right  in 
the  kind  reasoning  of  the  words,  'his  youthful 
appearance  no  doubt  gave  him  a  very  sympathetic 
hearing.'  (2)  E.  Stock  was  true  when  he  said  that 
a  layman  had  a  much  better  chance  than  a  '  parson/ 
(3)  The  terrific  tornado  that  came  and  struck  the 
building  just  when  I  was  a  quarter  of  the  way  through, 
causing  rain  to  come  in  all  over  the  place,  was  all 
in  the  programme.  You  would  have  roared  with 
laughter  at  the  situation.  Here  was  I,  as  hard  as 
I  could,  ploughing  away  through  the  gale,  determined 
not  to  be  beaten  by  the  elements,  and  triumphantly 
getting  a  hearing  in  answer  to  at  least  fifty  different 
people's  prayers.  There,  too,  were  the  people  sitting 
below  with  no  little  fear  that  the  whole  roof  of  such 
a  temporary  building  would  be  blown  away.  The 
Bishop  of  Ballarat  set  the  comical  fashion  of  sitting 
on  the  platform  under  an  umbrella.  All  the  audience 
then  followed  suit,  and  the  bishops  got  out  their 
skull-caps.  The  Bishop  of  London  also  put  up  his 
coat  collar,  and  quite  forgot  to  put  it  down  again 
before  speaking;  and  capping  everything  that  I 
had  said,  specially  addressing  himself  to  the  clergy, 
implored  them  to  bring  the  subject  of  missions  into 
their  regular  teachings  from  the  pulpits.  He  even 
went  so  far  as  to  say  that  no  man  could  become  a 
perfect  Christian  until  'missions  became  an  integral 
part  of  his  life.'  Now  he  might  have  passed  over 
what  I  had  been  trying  to  emphasise,  but,  instead, 
he  went  and  reiterated  point  after  point,  and  so 
impressing  them  officially  on  the  clergy." 


42  D.  M.  THORNTON 

One  passage  in  his  address  we  may  quote  as 
being  especially  characteristic,  indicating,  as  it  does, 
his  estimation  of  the  value  of  the  Movement,  and 
his  hopes  for  its  future — 

"With  unfeignedly  thankful  hearts  we  look  back 
over  the  wonderful  way  in  which  God  has  led  us  during 
these  last  few  years.  He  has  brought  hundreds  of  men 
and  women  to  a  new  obedience  to  His  royal  com- 
mission :  a  higher  tide  of  love  has  flooded  their  hearts, 
a  deeper  friendship  has  revealed  the  living  Christ, 
clearer  visions  have  passed  before  them,  and  they  have 
entered  into  more  abundant  life.  The  triumphs  of  the 
past  have  cleared  our  sight  for  brighter  glories ;  already 
we  almost  see  the  rosy  hues  of  the  morning,  and 
waiting,  seem  to  catch  the  footfall  of  our  coming 
Lord.  We  rejoice  to  see  our  colonial  and  continental 
brothers  clasp  hands  with  us,  and  form  one  strong 
union  to  'make  Jesus  King.'  We  wait  to  see  the 
students  of  the  East  bow  down  before  Christ  Jesus, 
and  become  with  us  the  messengers  to  their  nations. 
As  those  that  look  for  His  appearance,  we  would  press 
forward  with  a  deeper  fervency  of  prayer  and  effort, 
that  before  another  generation  shall  have  passed  away 
the  Gospel  may  be  preached  for  a  witness  unto  all 
nations." 

All  this  sort  of  thing  suited,  of  course,  Thornton's 
enthusiastic  nature,  and  developed  his  innate  genius  for 
dreaming  and  for  scheming.  But  at  this  period  his 
need  of  being  supplemented  by  those  who  could  control 
as  well  as  urge,  and  who  could  work  for  an  ideal  with- 
out losing  sight  of  present  limitations  or  overstraining 
existing  material,  became  more  than  ever  obvious. 
When  wisely  handled,  Thornton  was  usually  amenable 


THE  STUDENT  CHRISTIAN  MOVEMENT     43 

to  the  rather  galling  discipline  of  this  criticising  and 
restraining  influence.  But  sometimes  he  was  not  so, 
and  his  volcanic  temperament  at  those  times,  then  and 
afterwards  in  Egypt,  found  vent  in  making  much  com- 
motion. It  is  difficult  for  a  man  of  this  build  to  realise, 
especially  at  the  time,  another  man's  point  of  view,  and 
this  fact  leads  him  at  times  to  be  unsympathetic  and 
harsh,  unjust  even.  One  wonders  what  was  the  whole 
inner  history  of  that  matter  between  Paul  and  Barnabas. 
.  .  .  Thornton,  however,  preferred  to  be  stood  up  to, 
though  a  perfectly  Homeric  conflict  was  apt  to  be 
the  result.  But  this  does  not  contradict  the  fact  that, 
although  his  plans  were  often  liable  to  practical  criticism, 
as  premature,  they  were  frequently  right  in  idea.  The 
Rev.  Tissington  Tatlow,  the  present  General  Secretary  of 
the  "  Volunteer  "  Movement,  writes  in  this  connection — 

"  It  was  probably  this,  together  with  the  largeness  of 
his  schemes,  that  led  one  friend  who  knew  him  only 
slightly  at  the  time  to  describe  him  as  'the  young 
man  who  deals  in  worlds  and  archbishops  ! '  It  really 
described  him  very  well,  but  he  was  more  than  that, 
he  was  a  prophet.  He  was  the  greatest  prophet  the 
Student  Movement  has  ever  had.  He  looked  into  the 
future,  and  then  devised  his  schemes.  Sometimes  the 
Executive  laughed  at  those  schemes,  they  seemed  so 
impossibly  big.  Sometimes  the  Executive  were  rather 
bewildered,  but  Thornton  always  held  on,  and  though 
he  was  sometimes,  I  think  often,  rash  about  details,  he 
was  generally  right  in  the  main  sweep  of  things,  and 
I  have  seen  recent  Executives  carefully  working  out 
schemes  which  had  been  propounded  to  earlier  Execu- 
tives by  Thornton,  and  ruled  out  of  court  as  too  big  or 
too  impracticable." 


44  D.  M.  THORNTON 

May  it  not  be  that  this  Watchword,  and  the  Appeal 
to  the  Churches  which  was  and  must  always  be  its 
logical  corollary,  will  yet  come  to  their  own  ?  Thorn- 
ton, at  least,  never  lost  sight  of  them ;  his  whole  life- 
work  was  laid  out  with  them  in  view,  and  we  find  him 
thus  writing  from  Egypt,  years  later — 

"M thinks  that  to  evaoigelise   the  North- West 

Provinces  alone  in  this  generation  wants  a  greater  up- 
heaval than  the  Reformation  produced.  X puts 

the  question  fairly  plainly  for  the  Eastern  Soudan. 
I  should  have  to  say  the  same  about  the  Delta  of 
Egypt,  where  at  present  practically  no  light  penetrates 
beyond  the  few  leading  towns.  The  Eastern  Soudan  is 
an  appalling  problem.  Arabia  is  still  largely  inacces- 
sible. E.  Syria  and  Palestine  are  an  almost  desperate 
case.  Absolutely  no  work  is  done  among  Moslems  in 
Turkey  in  Asia,1  except  scratch  visits  of  our  missionaries 
and  one  colporteur  to  places  in  Mesopotamia.  And  so 
on  and  so  on.  Meanwhile  the  Devil's  forces  are  working 
hard.  Drink  shops  are  being  set  up  by  Greeks  all  over 
the  Delta.  Englishmen  are  disgracing  our  name  here 
more  and  more  every  year.  Keen  men  go  back,  and 
weak  men  live  in  sin,  and  some  even  take  bribes.  Now 
it  seems  to  me  that  in  view  of  all  these  facts,  and  there 
are  much  worse  and  sadder  ones  which  I  forbear  to  tell 
till  we  meet,  the  S.V.M.U.  ought  to  have  some  better 
answer  to  give  than  it  has  given,  and  the  Appeal  to 
the  Churches  ought  now  to  be  followed  up  with  a  great 
movement  for  the  awakening  of  Christendom." 

And  again,  in  a  letter  dated  12th  December  1900, 
after  describing  how  he  was  getting  on  in  Arabic,  and 
saying  that  he  needed  to  spend  every  spare  scrap  of 
energy  upon  the  language,  he  breaks  away  from  his 

1  1908— This  ia  not  the  case  now. 


THE  STUDENT  CHRISTIAN  MOVEMENT     45 

own  concerns  and  once  more  gets  on  to  the  problem 
of  world-wide  evangelisation.  This  time  his  interest 
is  in  language  translation.  He  writes — 

"There  are  at  least  a  hundred  languages,  dominant 
ones,  which  need  a  good  Christian  literature.  There 
are  at  least  a  thousand  others  out  of  the  supposed  four 
thousand  which  need  Bible  translations  of  some  sort  or 
other  if  the  world  is  to  be  evangelised  in  any  primary 
sense  in  this  generation.  ...  To  put  it  simply,  our  task 
is  to  undo  the  work  of  Babel.  The  missionaries  of 
Nyassaland  are  boldly  facing  the  task  of  building  up 
one  language  out  of  several  of  the  spoken  dialects  there, 
Zulu  and  non-Zulu.  From  correspondence  I  am  having 
with  Uganda  I  see  they  are  just  beginning  now  to 
face  the  same  question,  and  Uganda  and  the  environs 
need  linguists  now  if  any  place  does,  and  so  do  other 
parts  of  Africa  and  Asia  and  South  America.  I  esti- 
mate that  for  this  kind  of  work  alone  we  need  at  least 
five  hundred  scholars.  Then  we  come  to  the  widely 
spoken  languages  of  Asia  and  Africa  in  which  the  New 
Testament,  and,  in  most  of  them,  the  Bible  is  ready. 
Is  this  all  they  need  ?  My  dear  fellow,  I  have  been  to 
the  American  Press  at  Beirut  and  seen  there  the  result 
of  the  seven  Arabic  scholars  (missionaries)  after  life- 
long study,  and  I  tell  you  it  is  as  a  drop  in  the  ocean. 
We  need  a  hymnology  in  Arabic,  a  whole  range  of 
topical  theological  works,  an  army  of  controversial 
tracts,  etc.,  as  we  are  beginning  to  have  in  India,  and 
there  will  be  an  enormous  need  now  for  this  work  in 
China.  Think  then  what  this  involves,  nothing  less 
than  groups  of  scholars  at  work  at  each  of  the  great 
languages  of  the  world,  as  well  as  native  preachers  and 
writers.  We  need  it  for  Chinese,  Arabic,  Hindu- 
stani, all  the  Sanscrit  group  of  languages,  Persian  and 
allied  tongues,  Turkish,  Dravidic  languages,  Mongolian 
languages,  Oceanian,  etc.  etc. 

"  And  every  one  of  these  needs  scholars  and  decades 


46  D.  M.  THORNTON 

of  work.  How  can  work  at  home  in  our  seething 
islands  compare  with  it  ?  I  am  fairly  warm  upon  this 
matter.  Oh  that  someone  among  the  Student  Volun- 
teers would  rise  up  to-day  as  a  prophet  upon  this 
matter,  and  show  to  college  men  the  real  issues,  and 
be  led  to  call  forth  more  Volunteers !  It  is  my 
prayer." 

What  this  watchword  meant  to  Thornton  morally, 
intellectually,  and  spiritually  may  best  be  described  by 
himself — 

"June  22,  1906. 

"Don't  think  us  mere  enthusiasts  over  this  scheme. 
We  mean  a  great  deal  more  than  this  in  the  words,  '  the 
Evangelisation  of  the  World  in  this  Generation.'  The 
only  way  this  work  can  be  done  simultaneously  all  over 
the  world  in  a  generation  is  by  an  all-round  consecra- 
tion of  the  Church  of  Christ  in  every  land.  This  means 
that  all  nations  in  Europe  will  have  to  become  revived, 
or  else  the  whole  of  Europe  cannot  itself  be  said  to  be 
evangelised.  It  means  all  colonies  of  all  European 
nations  too.  Yes,  and  all  the  heathen.  Can  any  work 
be  more  comprehensive,  more  engrossing,  and  more 
hard  ?  These  visions  of  the  future,  whether  realised  or 
not,  bring  with  them  ambition  to  lead  thousands, 
tendencies  to  pride  and  self-esteem,  and  temptations  to 
be  seeking  greatness.  Like  snares  they  have  to  be  cut 
again  and  again,  and  another  humbling  time  is  needed. 
It  is  here,  in  God's  own  appointed  path  for  me,  bringing, 
as  it  may,  the  dazzling  heights  and  the  rising  tide  of 
success,  that  I  need  the  prayers  of  you  and  all  my 
friends.  The  life  of  faith,  the  walk  of  holiness,  and  the 
graces  of  humility  and  reality  are  all  so  needed ;  and 
one  often  feels  ashamed  of  drawing  forth  the  sympathy 
of  others,  for  the  heart  is  so  cold  and  mechanical  the  old 
fresh  zeal  seems  to  lose  its  colour.  Oh  to  grasp  more  o£ 
the  overwhelming  love  of  Christ — His  world-wide  com- 


THE  STUDENT  CHRISTIAN  MOVEMENT     47 

passion,  propitiation,  and  intercession  !  This  is  the  only 
remedy  for  the  world.  How  little  we  know  of  it !  I 
want  more  of  the  secret  of  the  words,  '  As  dying  and 
behold  we  live,  as  poor  yet  making  many  rich,  as  having 
nothing  and  yet  possessing  all  things.'  The  only  things 
that  can  stop  this  work  are  faithlessness,  pride,  and 
prejudice.  I  almost  fear  the  last  the  most.  No  argu- 
ment, truth,  or  inspiration  will  touch  a  prejudiced  soul, 
still  more  a  prejudiced  Christian.  The  Lord  subdue 
them  in  His  way,  and  give  us  all  larger  views  of  His 
kingdom ! " 

THE  "MISSIONARY  STUDY"  IDEA. 

The  second  great  idea  that  was  borne  in  upon  the 
leaders  of  those  days,  and  Thornton  first  and  foremost, 
was  that  the  Watchword  would  not  be  adopted,  much 
less  realised,  by  the  Christian  Church,  unless  floods  of 
light  were  cast  on  missionary  facts,  and  knowledge  took 
the  place  of  ignorance.  He  immediately  grasped,  of 
course,  that  this  meant  effort — planned,  deliberate,  and 
organised  effort ;  and  he  was  instrumental  in  initiating 
a  scheme  of  missionary  study  for  the  College  Christian 
Unions,  and  writing  a  text-book,  Africa  Waiting, 
which  in  some  ways  is  still  a  model  for  this  sort  of 
book.  How  sound  was  this  "missionary  study"  idea 
is  shown  by  two  facts :  first,  that  it  has  gone  on 
increasingly  and  victoriously  in  the  Student  Christian 
Movement  ever  since;  and  secondly,  that  it  has  been 
introduced  into  the  Churches  themselves,  and  in  them 
there  is  now  a  deeply  significant  movement  for  pro- 
moting missionary  study  among  Church  members,  and 
particularly  the  rising  generation. 


48  D.  M.  THORNTON 

The  following  letter  shows  the  characteristic  spirit 
with  which  Thornton  entered  on  this  task.  Mountain- 
ranges  of  possibilities  disclosed  themselves  to  his  eye  as 
he  viewed  the  task  from  the  heights  on  which  he 
habitually  lived: — 

"  It  is  now  decided  that  I  have  to  engage  in  the  task 
of  writing  a  book  on  Africa :  the  first,  from  a  mis- 
sionary point  of  view,  that  will  embrace  the  whole 
Continent  in  its  topics.  So  I  am  getting  into  correspond- 
ence with  such  men  as  Pastor  Coillard,  of  the  Basuto 
and  Barotse  Missions,  and  Mackenzie  (L.M.S.),  who  was 
used  to  Khama's  conversion,  and  Grenfell,  the  great 
Congo  explorer,  and  Fraser,  concerning  South  Africa  and 
Nyassa  problems.  Arnot  will  help  me  with  geographical 
and  political  and  native  questions  south  of  the  Congo 
region.  Then,  of  course,  men  like  Pilkington,  of 
Uganda ;  Dr.  Guinness,  of  the  Congo ;  Bishop  Tugwell, 
and  Robinson,  of  the  Niger,  etc.;  Bishop  Ingham,  of 
Sierra  Leone;  and  the  Americans,  re  the  Cameroon 
country,  will  be  consulted.  Lastly,  the  North  and  South 
African  Mission  leaders. 

"  This  great  undertaking  needs  much  prayer.  Much 
material  will  be  gathered  by  this  means,  and  this  will 
lead  (D.V.)  to  a  general  African  magazine  for  the  public, 
later  on  a  year-book  for  African  missionaries,  and  possibly 
future  works.  Such  a  study  will  be  hard,  and  followed 
by  at  least  fifteen  hundred  American  students,  and  five 
hundred  Australian,  South  African,  and  Indian  students. 
Possibly  by  Chinamen  and  Japanese.  Certainly  by 
some  of  our  continental  volunteers.  The  French,  and 
German,  and  Swiss,  and  Dutch  will  all  be  much 
interested  in  Africa,  so  I  hope  to  get  all  their  missions 
represented.  Not  that  Germany  is  doing  much,  while 
Holland  less  even  than  Germany.  But  this  work  should 
set  each  European  country  to  work  in  evangelising  its 
own  possessions. 


THE  STUDENT  CHRISTIAN  MOVEMENT     49 

"  Remember  that  many  continental  students  are  watch- 
ing our  educational  programme.  If  we  can  get  out  such 
a  work  it  will  be  just  the  means  of  starting  them,  too, 
with  a  systematic  study  of  missions.  This  opens  out 
realms  of  thought  and  new  possibilities  before  us ;  vaster 
and  even  too  great  to  understand  as  yet,  for  I  suppose 
I  am  right  when  I  say  that  no  man  of  twenty-three  has 
such  a  key  position  to  work  from  to  so  many  different 
nations  as  is  now  given  me. 

"  The  evangelisation  of  Africa  is  our  cry  !  Why  not  in 
this  generation  ?  Why  not !  God  is  moving  faster  than  we 
think.  After  this,  of  course,  the  same  has  to  be  done  for 
China,  but  that  we  must  take  up  later  on,  by  my  successor." 

He  had  left  Cambridge  in  the  summer  of  1896,  and 
worked  at  his  task  all  the  ensuing  autumn  and  spring, 
staying  with  his  aunts  at  Croydon,  and  going  up 
almost  daily  to  the  British  Museum,  where  he  con- 
sumed vast  quantities  of  geographical  and  missionary 
literature  bearing  on  the  problems  before  him. 

The  work  did  not  end  with  writing  a  text-book. 
It  involved  writing  manifold  subsidiary  studies  and 
programmes  of  work,  and  directions  to  those  who  were 
to  lead  the  study-scheme  in  the  various  colleges.  To 
those  he  would  write  long  and  painstaking  letters, 
sometimes  running  to  four  sheets,  going  into  every 
detail  of  the  subject  in  hand.  It  is  not  often  that 
such  laboriousness  about  minutiae  goes  with  such  soaring 
visionariness  of  outlook. 

It  was  at  this  time  he  wrote  his  only  hymn1 — 

"  I  confess  to  it  being  a  surprise  to  me  to  find  the 
substance  of  what  is  now  the  hymn  given  and  recorded 

1  See  p.  vi. 

4 


50  D.  M.  THORNTON 

within  thirty  minutes,  and  in  answer  to  prayer  too. 
For  not  only  have  I  for  some  time  prayed  that  the 
Lord  will  raise  up  a  poet  to  voice  the  watchword  to 
the  Churches,  but  on  30th  December,  at  our  quiet  day, 
I  asked  the  other  secretaries  if  they  would  do  the 
same,  little  thinking  that  I  should  be  called  upon  to 
lead  the  way  and  draw  forth  other  talent.  For  now 
this  hymn  will,  of  course,  produce  competition  and  some- 
thing better  for  certain ;  and  so  our  poet  will  be  found." 

Pressure  was  put  on  him  to  stay  in  England  longer 
and  give  more  time  to  the  student  work,  but  nothing 
would  deflect  Thornton  from  his  "purpose  to  be  a 
foreign  missionary."  With  every  temptation  to  stay, 
and  with  the  certainty  of  becoming  in  time  a  well- 
known  personage  in  the  Church,  exercising  influence 
from  some  central  position,  he  preferred  to  stop  in 
the  ranks  and  go  as  a  private  in  the  missionary 
army  abroad,  with  the  complete  obscuration  that  that 
involves, — the  beginning  all  over  again,  the  absorption 
at  first  in  the  most  elementary  and  commonplace  work. 
To  a  man  of  Thornton's  type  and  with  his  opportunities, 
such  a  step  seems  nothing  short  of  "the  sentence  of 
death  in  himself," — the  death  that  to  the  Christian  is 
the  door  to  life,  how  narrow  none  but  he  knows. 

He  therefore  offered  his  services  to  the  Church 
Missionary  Society  this  year  and  was  accepted.  The 
following  letter  is  interesting  in  view  of  his  future 
life  :— 

"30,  4,  '97. 

"  I  have  definitely  backed  out  of  Educational  Secre- 
tary work  on  31st  July.  I  am  told  that  C.M.S. 


THE  STUDENT  CHRISTIAN  MOVEMENT     51 

would  be  willing  to  send  me  wherever  I  felt  called 
to  go.  That  means  to  the  Mohammedans  certainly. 
Where  ?  There  are  three  places  which  all  have  their 
attractions,  and  which  from  considerable  reading  now 
on  the  Mohammedan  question  seem  to  be  very  im- 
portant places  to  occupy  —  (1)  Bombay,  (2)  Cairo, 
(3)  Hausaland.  The  first  has  been  in  my  mind  since 
1891.  The  second  grows  upon  me  more  and  more, 
for  I  believe  prophecy  indicates  the  future  importance 
of  Egypt  in  this  question.  Hausaland  is  undoubtedly 
the  opportunity  of  the  hour,  and  dearly  beloved  Walter 
Miller  longs  for  me  to  go  with  him.  He  is  offering 
for  this  work  almost  at  once.  But  I  think  the  Lord  is 
leading  to  (1)  or  (2).  It  may  be  that  I  should  go  to 
the  Punjab  to  learn  Urdu  first  before  settling  in  Bombay. 
I  can't  say  yet.  Arabic,  too,  must  be  studied,  and 
where  ?  I  need  your  prayers." 

THE  MISSIONARY  IDEAL  AND  THE  THEOLOGICAL 
COLLEGES. 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  importance  of  influenc- 
ing the  Theological  Colleges  with  the  missionary  ideals 
of  the  Student  Movement  had  for  some  time  presented 
itself  to  Thornton's  mind  ;  and,  after  finishing  his  work 
as  "  Educational "  Secretary,  his  sense  of  its  importance 
grew.  This  was,  then,  the  next  problem  to  which  he 
addressed  himself.  In  Thornton's  life,  as  we  shall  see,  the 
chronological  order  is  generally  the  same  as  the  logical. 
The  fact  speaks  volumes  for  the  ordered  nature  of  this 
thinking,  planning,  and  acting.  Thornton  saw  that  to 
win  the  Theological  Colleges  for  the  ideals  expressed  in 
the  Watchword  was  to  win  the  Church  of  the  coming 
generation. 


52  D.  M.  THORNTON 

The  connection  of  the  Student  Movement  with  the 
Theological  Colleges  had  been  rather  tentative  and 
hesitating.  Thornton  saw  that  it  must  be  strengthened, 
and  that  missionary  study  was  capable  of  being  the 
bond.  No  sooner  had  he  determined  upon  this  than  he 
devised  the  means  of  bringing  it  about.  There  must  be 
a  special  conference  for  theological  students,  in  the 
Easter  vacation,  at  Birmingham,  like  that  at  Liverpool, 
only  not  so  large.  The  fact  that  this  only  left  four 
months  to  prepare  for  this  conference,  and  that  Liver- 
pool had  proved  that  such  a  task  is  a  killing  one, 
daunted  him  not  a  whit.  Plans  were  drawn  up, 
estimates  made,  programmes  arranged,  the  smallest 
details  set  down.  His  foresight  and  power  alone  made 
the  thing  feasible,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  following 
account  by  the  Rev.  Tissington  Tatlow : — 

"  It  is  impossible  to  tell  in  one  short  paragraph  what 
Douglas  Thornton  did  for  our  Theological  College  De- 
partment. He  began  trying  to  draw  theological  students 
into  the  Movement  at  a  time  when  no  one  else  was  work- 
ing at  the  very  base  of  the  problem,  and  he  continued 
that  work  until  the  Theological  College  Department  in 
its  present  form  was  an  accomplished  fact.  It  was 
chiefly  owing  to  his  endeavours  that  a  special  week  of 
prayer  for  theological  students  was  very  widely  observed 
in  Theological  Colleges  for  several  years.  During  the 
winter  of  '97,  while  Thornton  was  studying  at  head- 
quarters the  problem  of  the  Theological  Colleges,  I  was 
travelling  in  these  Colleges  on  behalf  of  the  S.V.M.U. 
About  Christmas  we  joined  forces,  and  together  drafted 
a  memorandum  to  the  Executive  about  the  Theological 
College  problem  and  its  relation  to  the  Student  Christian 
Movement.  This  memorandum  surveyed  the  efforts 


THE  STUDENT  CHRISTIAN  MOVEMENT     53 

of  past  and  present,  and  suggested  that  a  special 
conference  for  theological  students  should  be  held 
during  the  spring  of  1898.  The  proposal  was  dis- 
cussed at  the  Christmas  Executives,  and  the  conference 
was  decided  upon.  I  do  not  think  it  would  have  been 
possible  to  have  held  this  conference  had  it  not  been 
that  in  anticipation  of  the  Executive's  decision,  Thornton 
had  worked  out  the  entire  plans  for  such  a  conference 
in  advance,  and,  when  the  Executive's  decision  was 
reached,  he  produced  and  laid  on  the  table  a  memo- 
randum which  covered  every  department  that  needs 
attention  in  connection  with  such  a  conference.  He 
threw  himself  into  this  effort  during  the  spring  of 
1898.  The  Theological  Conference,  which  was  held  at 
Birmingham,  April  1898,  laid  heavy  burdens  on  the 
men  who  organised  it,  and  its  ultimate  success  was  in 
no  small  measure  due  to  the  courage  and  faith  of 
Thornton,  who  had  a  prominent  part  in  the  actual 
conference,  acting  as  its  Chairman.  This  conference 
was  the  source  from  which  our  present  Theological 
College  Department  sprang." 

The  writer  of  the  above  extract  and  the  writer  of  the 
present  work  were  Thornton's  co-adjutors  in  this  Birm- 
ingham Conference.  They  well  remember  the  enormous 
work  Thornton  put  into  it,  his  unfailing  resourcefulness, 
his  command  of  detail.  They  remember  also  the  con- 
ference itself,  a  time  agonised  with  anxiety,  want  of 
sleep,  and  over- work.  The  idea  was  new,  the  men  who 
came  were  strange  to  each  other  and  to  the  work — far 
more  curious  than  enthusiastic.  Moreover,  they  were 
theological  students  and  therefore — critical.  The  anxiety 
of  the  conference  to  those  who  realised  the  issues  in- 
volved was  therefore  supremely  great,  and  the  physical 
strain  involved  by  the  late  hours — 12  midnight,  2  a.m., 


54  D.  M.  THORNTON 

3  a.m.,  etc. — was  terrible.  The  programme  for  the  next 
day  had  sometimes  to  be  elaborated  at  two  o'clock  in 
the  morning  after  a  day  of  most  wearing  work ; 
Thornton  being  so  tired  that  he  would  frequently  talk 
nonsense,  the  other  two  being  so  equally  tired  that 
it  was  only  by  an  effort  they  recognised  it  was 
nonsense  that  he  talked. 

But  the  next  day  he  would  be  in  his  post  as 
Chairman,  apparently  none  the  worse.  And  the  end 
was  peace.  After  some  difficult  crises  the  delegates 
went  away  convinced,  and  from  that  time  the 
Theological  College  Department  of  the  Student 
Movement  has  been  a  working  reality. 

It  was  during  the  four  months,  which  were  all  he  had 
for  the  working-up  of  this  conference,  that  he  actually 
found  time  for  a  visit  to  the  United  States  to  attend  a 
great  Student  Volunteer  Convention  at  Cleveland.  Here 
he  addressed  six  meetings  of  the  Convention,  and  had 
numerous  interviews  with  the  missionary  leaders.  While 
his  addresses  were  greatly  valued,  the  leaders  of  the 
Student  Volunteer  Movement  have  always  said  that  his 
most  useful  contribution  was  behind  the  scenes.  He 
gave  a  great  deal  of  time  to  personal  interviews  with 
prominent  men.  A  special  feature  of  these  interviews 
was  the  discussion  of  the  Faith  Policy  of  the  Church 
Missionary  Society  with  the  secretaries  of  six  of  the 
leading  American  missionary  societies.  Leaders  of  the 
Episcopal  Church  and  editors  of  newspapers  were  also 
seen,  and  the  policy  of  the  Student  Volunteer  Movement 
discussed  with  them.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  Conven- 


THE  STUDENT  CHRISTIAN  MOVEMENT     55 

tion  Thornton  visited  a  few  colleges  in  the  States,  and 
then  hurried  home  to  make  the  final  preparations  for 
the  Birmingham  Conference. 

THE  SPIRITUAL  BASIS  OF  THE  MOVEMENT. 

As  if  to  complete  and  crown  the  services  rendered 
by  Thornton  to  the  Student  Christian  Movement,  the 
last  set  of  problems  at  which  we  find  him  working 
before — and  after — his  departure  for  Egypt  were 
intensive,  inward,  spiritual:  the  unseen  basis  upon 
which  all  visible  action,  whether  individual  or  united, 
is,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  wrought  out. 

Being  a  thorough-going  Anglican  by  birth,  training, 
and  conviction,  though  absolutely  free  and  even  original 
in  his  views  on  purely  ecclesiastical  matters,  it  came 
natural  to  him  to  see,  and  grasp  the  meaning  and 
value  of  expressed  agreement  in  fundamental  faith, 
more  commonly  and  drily  called  creed.  It  was  one 
of  the  unique  features  of  the  Student  Movement  that, 
although  it  embraced  members  of  the  Right,  the  Centre, 
and  the  Left  of  the  Christian  assemblage,  men  who 
were  traditionally  anti-creed,  as  well  as  pro-creed,  it 
was  nevertheless  guided  by  God  to  give  expression  to 
its  spiritual  basis  in  one  pregnant  phrase.  This  phrase 
was  not  so  much  an  intellectual  formula  as  a  word 
expressive  of  a  heart-attitude  to  Jesus  Christ.  The  first 
form  that  this  Basis  took,  in  the  days  of  Thornton's 
official  connection  with  the  Movement,  was — 

"A  belief  in  Jesus  Christ  as  God  the  Son  and 
only  Saviour  of  the  World," 


56  D.  M.  THORNTON 

that  is,  a  confession  of  personal  reliance  upon  Christ 
as  truly  Divine  and  as  the  source  of  Salvation. 

If  this  expression  was  altered  a  few  years  later, 
it  was  to  intensify  it,  not  weaken  it,  by  changing 
its  generalising  character,  so  as  to  become  more  per- 
sonal and  applied,  more  adoring,  and  more  Scriptural 
in  expression:  thus — 

"  /  desire,  in  joining  this  Union,  to  declare  my  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ  as  my  Saviour,  my  Lord,  and 
my  God." 

Thornton  took  a  good  deal  of  part  in  the  prolonged 
discussions  that  produced  these  results,  but  his  special 
contribution  was  in  their  application  and  use ;  and  the 
way  he  grasped  the  importance  of  acting,  in  regard 
to  this  whole  matter. 

Thus,  for  example,  he  was  the  great  leader  in 
insisting  that  the  High  Church  School  in  the  Anglican 
Church  could  and  should  be  brought  into  touch  with 
the  Movement  without  the  smallest  infraction  of  prin- 
ciple on  any  side.  In  the  keenness  of  his  hope  and 
the  reality  of  his  sympathy,  he  undertook  pilgrimages 
to  various  Church  theological  colleges  and  Church 
societies,  urging  now  the  adoption  of  the  Watchword, 
now  attendance  at  some  conference,  now  organic 
connection  of  some  sort  with  the  Movement.  And 
everywhere  he  relied  on  the  basis  to  show  that  such 
alliances  were  defensible  and  valuable.  On  this  point 
he  advised  a  visit  to  the  late  Bishop  of  London,  Dr. 
Creighton,  to  ascertain  his  views.  The  interview  pro- 


THE  STUDENT  CHRISTIAN  MOVEMENT     57 

duced  the  following  remarkable  letter,  written  by  the 
great  Bishop  expressly  for  publication  and  use: — 

"FULHAM  PALACE,  S.W.,  Dec.  2,  1898. 

"  MY  DEAR  MR.  GAIRDNER, — The  practical  point  on 
which  you  ask  my  opinion  is  this :  Do  I  think  that 
members  of  Theological  Colleges  in  connexion  with  the 
Church  of  England  would  in  any  way  compromise  their 
position,  as  thorough  and  loyal  members  of  that  com- 
munion, by  joining  the  British  College  Christian  Union, 
which  aims  at  uniting  students  of  all  denominations  for 
the  purpose  of  promoting  missionary  zeal  ?  I  do  not 
think  so.  I  regard  the  basis  of  a  '  belief  in  Jesus  Christ 
as  God  the  Son  and  only  Saviour  of  the  world '  as  one 
which  is  independent  of  the  question  of  ecclesiastical 
organisation.  When  practical  work  is  to  be  done  we 
must  recognise  that  it  must  be  done  by  each  of  us 
according  to  the  principles  of  the  ecclesiastical  organ- 
isation to  which  we  belong.  But  the  object  of  your 
Union  is  to  prepare  the  way  for  practical  work,  by 
prayer,  by  study,  by  spiritual  endeavour.  These  are 
objects  and  methods  which  are  common  to  all  Christians. 
They  can  be  pursued  in  different  ways.  But  all  may 
unite  in  resolving  to  pursue  them.  Such  union  for  the 
general  purpose  of  promoting  missionary  work  does  not 
involve  any  surrender  of  individual  convictions  about 
the  best  form  in  which  the  Christian  truth  can  be 
expressed.  It  is  in  the  mission  field  especially  that 
forms  of  organisation  are  subjected  to  the  most  search- 
ing test.  No  one  religious  body  can  undertake  all  the 
work  that  is  to  be  done.  Combination  among  students 
might  help  to  remove  misunderstandings,  which  are  too 
often  engendered  by  the  ignorance  which  comes  from 
exclusiveness. 

"Your  endeavour  has  my  warm  sympathy. — I  am, 
yours  truly,  "M.  LONDON. 

"  W.  H.  T.  GAIRDNER,  Esq." 


58  D.  M.  THORNTON 

And  the  work  that  he  did  in  this  connection,  though 
its  apparent  fruit  at  the  time  was  small,  has  proved 
most  valuable  and  important.  It  led,  for  one  thing, 
to  almost  annual  conferences  between  some  represent- 
atives of  the  Movement  and  earnest  missionary-hearted 
High  Churchmen,  with  confessed  advantage  to  each 
side.  It  led  to  much  fruitful  thinking  on  the  meaning 
of  unity,  and  the  place  of  doctrinal  confession  in  true 
unity ;  to  the  mutual  respect  and  understanding  which 
contact  brings;  and  more  than  that,  it  led  to  High 
Churchmen  freely  attending  the  summer  conferences  of 
the  Student  Movement,  imparting  and  receiving  fresh 
zeal  and  enthusiasm.  This  sort  of  co-operation  is 
valuable,  just  because  it  represents  deliberate  action 
based  on  expressed  common  faith.  It  is  the  slow  and 
the  long  path  towards  Christian  re-union,  but  it  is 
the  sound  way,  because  every  step  in  it  is  made 
good,  and  never  has  to  be  retracted. 

Thornton,  however,  had  great  visions  of  what  might 
come  about  one  day.  In  the  first  place,  he  took  up  the 
line  that  the  Movement  ought  not  to  consider  its  own 
basis  as  anything  but  a  minimum.  He  saw  that  the 
enlarging  of  the  platform  until  it  included  all  truth 
was  necessary  before  all  could  stand  on  that  platform 
together.  His  ideal  for  the  Student  Movement  was 
that  it  should  take  up,  freshly,  sincerely,  and  enthusi- 
astically, the  attitude  of  seeking  and  welcoming  truth 
from  whatever  quarter  it  came.  He  thought  that  this 
attitude  was,  in  reality,  so  rare  that  for  the  Movement 
to  announce  it  would  be  not  banal  but  naive  and  start- 


THE  STUDENT  CHRISTIAN  MOVEMENT     59 

ling.  What  he  meant  was  that  the  Basis  should  be 
looked  on  as  a  nucleus,  round  which  should  gradually 
collect  the  results  and  the  conclusions  of  unanimous 
Christian  thinking,  all  the  more  valuable  because 
representing  untold  spiritual,  moral,  and  mental  toil. 
Such  basis  would  thus  be  organically  formed ;  it  would 
be  the  first  creed  whose  express  purpose  was  to 
include  and  not  exclude;  to  unite  and  not  scatter. 
It  would  never  alienate,  for  it  never  would  be  added 
to  save  by  the  goodwill  of  all;  and,  in  whatever 
respect  it  was  felt  to  be  incomplete,  that  incomplete- 
ness would  be  the  signal  for  more,  not  less,  prayer 
and  love,  upon  the  basis  of  unity  already  attained 
and  expressed. 

For  this  reason  it  was  a  bitter  moment  to  him,  when 
a  sincere  endeavour  to  make  the  Nicene  Creed  the 
expression  of  the  unity  of  theological  students,  at 
Birmingham  in  1898,  failed.  It  was  premature,  and 
it  was  dropped;  but  to  Thornton  the  experience  only 
dictated  more  endeavour,  more  sympathy,  more  prayer. 
He  grieved,  too,  when  it  was  decided  not  "to  let 
baptism  have  place  in  the  Basis,  on  account  of  the 
one  little  Christian  community  whose  views  on 
baptism  (as  he  said)  are  not  a  protest  against  baptism 
itself,  but  against  mechanicalism,  a  protest  for  the 
baptism  of  fire  and  the  Holy  Ghost.  But  he  never 
let  his  disappointments  become  discouragements. 

Such  were  the  ways  in  which  Thornton  bravely 
and  with  originality  faced  the  great  questions  of 
Christian  union,  both  before  and  after  he  left 


60  D.  M.  THORNTON 

England  for  Egypt.  They  led  him  out  to  a  vision 
of  Christendom,  in  which  federation,  rather  than 
absolute  uniformity,  was  perhaps  the  farthest  point 
to  which  his  sight  reached.  Federation :  neither  the 
confessed  dividedness  of  to-day ;  nor  a  viscous  adhesive- 
ness, which  is  only  gained  by  the  refusal  to  continue  the 
quest  of  truth  in  Church  matters  at  all ;  nor  a  uniformity 
in  which  all  the  Churches  have  had  to  come  round  to 
the  views  of  one;  but  a  mutual  recognition  and  co- 
operation based  upon  an  ever  -  enlarging  common 
denominator  of  faith,  believed  and  expressed.  And  his 
last  and  maturest  appeal,  written  in  190],  is  this — 
"Let  us  work  out  the  form  of  union  that  is  in  the 
mind  of  God  !  In  the  ages  to  come  I  believe  heaven's 
witness  to  the  value  of  the  Movement  will  vary  accord- 
ing as  we  succeed  or  fail  all  to  come  to  a  full-grown 
man  in  the  fulness  of  Christ.  These  are  some  of  the 
reasons  that  make  me  feel  that,  whereas  the  adopted 
basis  is  a  suggestive  guide  and  a  powerful  confes- 
sion of  personal  belief  for  our  students  as  a  whole, 
yes  for  the  World's  Student  Christian  Federation 
too,  theological  students  should  be  praying  and 
working  for  the  extension  of  the  common  ground 
between  them,  both  for  their  own  sakes,  and  for  the 
sake  of  the  Churches  at  home  and  abroad,  of  which 
they  will  soon  become  the  servants  and  the  leaders." 

Can  anyone  deny  that  in  those  thoughts  Thornton  is 
even  now  before  his  time,  and  that  they  constitute  a  call 
to  Churchmen,  conforming  and  non-conforming  alike,  to 
address  themselves  more  seriously  to  this  great  problem  ? 


CHAPTER  IV 

ON  THE  THRESHOLD 

IT  is  always  a  question  of  deep  interest  to  see 
the  way  in  which  a  man  of  this  calibre  is  guided, 
not  merely  to  the  mission  field  (as  we  have  fully 
seen),  but  also  to  a  particular  mission  field,  Thornton 
had  had  unique  opportunities  of  surveying  the  field 
of  battle  as  a  whole,  so  that  it  was  to  be  expected 
that  he  would  have  definite  ideas  as  to  the  point 
at  which  he  should  most  advantageously  put  his 
life  in  pawn.  He  had  already  been  attracted  to 
India;  he  had  gained  the  Maitland  prize  for  an 
essay  on  "  Parsis,  Sikhs,  and  Jains."  It  is  certain, 
too,  that  he  was  fully  aware  of  the  enormous 
opportunities  in  the  Far  East;  but  in  1897  these 
were  not  so  clamant  as  they  have  become  a  decade 
later.  So  too,  he  had  been  writing  on  "Africa 
Waiting,"  and  considering  the  problem  of  that 
continent  as  a  whole.  This  work  had  been  capped 
by  a  series  of  studies  which  he  outlined  on  Islam. 
The  result  was  practically  inevitable.  The  problem 
of  Africa  is  the  problem  of  Islam,  for  it  is  there 
(in  the  words  of  the  Cairo  Student  Volunteers'  cable 

61 


62  D.  M.  THORNTON 

to  the  London  Conference  of  1900)  that  "Islam  defies 
your  King."  Even  the  magnificent  successes  of  missions 
to  heathen  in  Africa,  such  as  the  Lovedale,  Bechuana, 
Barotsi,  Central  African,  Uganda,  and  West  African 
missions,  only  emphasise  the  failure  of  the  Church  in 
relation  to  advancing  Islam. 

He  saw,  then,  that  the  problem  of  problems  before 
the  Christian  Church,  the  hindrance  of  hindrances 
to  the  evangelisation  of  the  world  in  this  generation, 
was  Islam.  To  Thornton  this  would  be  only  another 
way  of  saying,  "Then  I  go  to  Islam." 

He  would  not,  however,  have  been  Thornton  had 
he  rested  content  with  this  general  decision.  It 
must  not  only  be  the  most  difficult  and  needy  field, 
but  it  must  be  the  centre  of  that  field.  This,  as 
his  studies  had  led  him  clearly  to  perceive,  and  as 
will  be  often  repeated  in  his  diaries  and  letters, 
was  Cairo.  For  the  centre  of  the  Moslem  world 
must  be,  to  him,  an  Arabic  -  speaking  country,  for 
he  already  saw  the  primary  importance  of  the  Arabic 
language,  the  language  of  languages  in  the  Near  and 
Middle  East.  This  excluded  Turkey,  India,  Persia.  For 
this  cause  and  for  the  reason  that  it  was  not  central, 
Hausaland  was  excluded,  though  he  was  immensely 
drawn  to  that  wonderful  field,  and  was  strongly 
tempted  to  volunteer  for  it.  This  left  the  Arabic- 
speaking  Moslem  centres,  Mecca,  Damascus,  Jerusalem, 
and  Cairo.  And  the  most  important,  as  the  most 
possible  of  these,  was  Cairo. 

Cairo,  then,  be  it !    In  August  1897,  at  the  Students' 


ON  THE  THRESHOLD  63 

Summer  Conference,  he  provisionally  offered  for  this 
field  in  a  private  interview  with  the  Rev.  H.  E.  Fox, 
the  Honorary  Secretary  of  the  Church  Missionary 
Society. 

The  following  words  of  his  own  give  the  best  insight 
into  his  motives  in  this  singularly  interesting  matter  : — 

"Nov.  22nd,  1897. 

"  MY  DEAR  MR.  Fox, — I  want  to  tell  you  that  I  feel 
stronger  every  day  about  going  to  Cairo,  and  it  will 
take  a  good  deal  now  to  convince  me  that  I  am  meant 
to  start  the  first  few  years  of  service  in  the  mission 
field  in  any  other  sphere.  I  had  ample  opportunity  of 
once  again  studying  the  Indian  mind  while  at  work  on 
the  Essay,1  but  in  the  light  of  our  Watchword  I  still 
feel  that  the  hardest  spots  of  the  Moslem  world  do  need 
proportionately  more  attention  than  C.M.S.  has  been 
able  to  give  them  even  in  these  last  thirty  years." 

[To  THE  WRITER,  from  CAIRO,  1899.] 

"  Remember  that  on  the  one  hand  what  you  write 
here  in  Arabic  will  soon  reach  India,  as  quickly  as  it 
can  reach  England.  It  will  also  find  an  entrance  into 
other  Moslem  lands.  .  .  . 

"  I  feel  it  to  be  a  serious  thing  to  say  to  you  that 
I  feel  the  call  to  Egypt  greater  than  that  to  Central 
Africa  or  elsewhere,  because  how  can  any  one  judge 
except  with  human  judgment  ?  Doubtless  the  need 
is  greatest  in  Central  Africa ;  or  in  one  of  the  densest 
populations  of  the  globe  where  there  is  no  missionary 
at  work,  e.g.  Bengal.  But  the  more  one  studies  the 
question  the  more  one  feels  the  need  of  bases  and 
strategic  points,  and  not  vice  versd,  in  spite  of  the 
wonderful  work  the  Monros  are  doing  in  another  line. 
It  is  impracticable  to  be  too  diffuse.  Work  done  is 

1  The  Maitland  Essay  mentioned  above. 


64  D.  M.  THORNTON 

never  followed  up,  and  seldom  brings  forth  good  fruit. 
On  the  other  hand,  unquestionably  the  Moslem  world 
is  the  line  of  greatest  resistance,  and  hence  the  last  that 
is  likely  to  yield ;  but  yet  again  the  Arabic  language  is 
read  by  as  many  people  as  Chinese,  and  probably  by 
nearly  as  many  as  English.  So  that  one's  influence  is 
likely  to  be  the  wider.  All  these  things  have  to  be 
taken  into  account." 

The  matter  was  as  good  as  settled  before  the  end  of 
the  year  (1897).  It  was  arranged  for  him  to  sail  in  the 
next  autumn,  and  so,  after  the  Birmingham  Conference 
of  the  next  spring,  which  was  his  real  farewell  to  direct 
work  for  the  Student  Movement,  he  went  into  retire- 
ment at  Islington  College  to  prepare  for  Ordination. 
He  was  ordained  Deacon  by  the  Bishop  of  London  (Dr. 
Creighton)  on  2nd  October  1898  in  St.  Paul's.  It  was  a 
joy  to  him  to  have  been  ordained  by  a  Bishop  of  London 
for  abroad,  and  in  a  Church  dedicated  to  St.  Paul. 

He  was  now  engaged  to  be  married.  The  decision 
was  taken,  like  all  his  decisions,  in  the  light  of  The 
Work :  any  other  way  of  looking  at  marriage  was 
inconceivable  to  him.  He  knew  himself,  and  knew 
that  he  could  do  little  without  one  to  share  all  his 
thoughts  and  plans,  and  give  him  the  full  measure  of 
love  that  his  nature  craved.  And  he  was  right.  His 
Betrothed  was  Miss  Elaine  Anderson,  daughter  of  the 
late  Sir  William  Anderson,  K.C.B.,  Director-General  of 
the  Royal  Ordnance  Factories.  Of  her  it  shall  suffice  to 
say  this :  that  what  his  nature  craved  that  she  gave  him. 
They  were  married  in  Cairo  on  7th  November  1899,  after 
he  had  been  just  a  year  in  the  field:  he  having  advanced,  of 


Copyright 


D.  M.  THORNTON. 

At  Ordination,   1898. 


Elliott  &>  Fry 


ON  THE  THRESHOLD  65 

course,  a  large  number  of  excellent  reasons  why  the 
wedding  should  then  take  place !  And  to  them  was 
born,  in  1901,  their  only  child,  his  little  son,  Cecil. 
His  married  life  was  what  he  hoped  it  would  be — 
need  we  tell  more  ?  It  was  a  family  life  wholly 
dedicated  to  the  Cause ;  in  this,  as  in  all  else,  the 
Kingdom  came  first,  by  the  deliberate  choice  of  both 
the  husband  and  the  wife.  But  that  did  not  mean  that 
the  beautiful  family  life  was  sacrificed.  It  was  not. 
His  was  a  real  home;  and  if  the  husband  and  father 
could  give  but  little  time  quantitatively  to  the  amenities 
of  home-life,  what  he  did  give  was  great  in  quality ;  so 
that  little  Cecil  to  this  day  remembers  his  father  as  the 
one  par  excellence  who  made  his  life  happy,  on  the 
strength  of  those  few,  rare  hours  which  he  could  give 
wholly  to  his  little  boy. 

His  ideals  for  missionary  life,  and  for  married  life 
as  well,  can  best  be  found  in  the  following  noble  words, 
written  to  his  Betrothed  shortly  before  sailing  for  Egypt. 
There  is  the  revelation  of  the  man ;  the  revelation  on 
the  threshold : — 

"  I  want  this  letter  to  be  from  my  heart  ...  I  want 
you  secretly  before  your  Maker  to  make  a  firm  resolve 
that  you  will  help  me  to  be  true  to  my  past  convictions, 
wrought  out  on  my  knees,  and  in  the  presence  of  the 
life  and  Book  of  Christ. 

"  I  must  be  true  to  God  and  conscience  all  my  life. 
I  will  not,  by  the  help  of  God,  allow  the  world  to  dazzle 
me,  in  wealth,  in  popularity,  in  literature,  in  soul. 

"  I  see  before  me  two  divergent  ways.  The  one  is 
that  of  settlement  and  ease,  the  other  that  of  pioneering 
5 


66  D.  M.  THORNTON 

as  a  preacher-prophet  all  the  time.  I  do  not  feel  pre- 
pared to  say  that  God  wants  me  to  he  living  comfortably 
— in  the  sense  of  settled  down.  I  trust  that  you  always 
•tend  in  readiness  to  bear  a  separation  if  the  Lord  shall 
cause  it.  It  may  be  we  shall  stay  in  Cairo  many  years. 
I  may  be  summoned  to  Hausaland,  or  other  lands. 

"Again,  I  trust  you  will  not  think  me  selfish  if  I 
have  to  work  at  nights,  in  years  to  coma  I  fear  there 
will  be  very  little  *  drawing-room '  time  in  my  active 
life.  I  feel  I  must  work  while  it  is  called  to-day. 
God  willing,  Cairo  must  undergo  a  transformation  of 
religious  life.  How  to  bring  this  about  calls  for  our 
constant  prayers.  It  must  be  done." 

With  these  remarkable  words,  which  are  worthy  of 
reading  and  re-reading,  we  follow  Douglas  Thornton 
in  thought  to  the  great  Eastern  city  which  henceforth 
was  to  be  his  home. 

Did  he  remain  true  to  this  ideal  ?  Did  the  self  - 
revelation  on  the  threshold  of  the  mission  field  remain 
bright  and  unclouded  until  he  set  foot  on  another 
Threshold  just  nine  years  later  ?  Let  the  unconscious 
self -revelation  of  that  last  night  bear  witness  that  to 
this  we  may  answer,  Yes.  He  did  "  never  let  the  world 
dazzle  him";  he  never  did  "comfortably  settle  down"; 
for  when  he  died  he  was  on  the  verge  of  making  a  great 
break  with  his  Cairo  life ;  he  had  "very  little  drawing- 
room  life  in  his  active  life";  he  did  "work  while 
it  was  called  day";  and,  witness  his  last  plans  for 
visiting  the  Soudan,  for  being  itinerant  preacher  in 
Upper  Egypt;  witness  the  impassioned  voice  echoing 
in  its  dying  delirium  down  the  silent  hospital  corridors, 
thai  he  WAS  "a  preacher-prophet  ALL  the  time"! 


ON  THE  THRESHOLD  67 

We  cast  our  minds  back  at  this  life-history  up  to 
this  point,  and  we  realise  the  extent  of  his  loss. 
Such  unparalleled  experience,  research,  knowledge, 
such  unique  preparation,  such  depths  of  self-devo- 
tion •  And  to  be  withdrawn  after  nine  years'  work  !• — 
at  the  age  of  thirty-four!  .  .  . 

Thy  will  be  done. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE    FIELD  AND   THE   MAN 

IN  recent  years  people  have  become  better  informed 
about  Egypt  and  the  Egyptians  than  they  used  to 
be,  for  a  variety  of  reasons,  and  the  English  reader 
of  these  pages  will  therefore  very  possibly  have  a 
fair  idea  of  the  country  and  city  where  Thornton 
found  himself  at  the  end  of  1898.  Yet,  judging  by 
the  questions  which  the  Anglo-Egyptian  finds  himself 
asked  by  tourists  or  at  home,  it  is  perhaps  advisable 
just  to  sketch  in  the  outlines  of  that  environment,  in 
order  that  the  reader  may  follow  Thornton's  thought 
and  action  intelligently  from  the  outset. 

Racially,  the  dwellers  in  the  land  of  Egypt  are 
still  mainly  Egyptian:  that  is  to  say,  their  stock, 
even  though  Arab  and  other  elements  have  been 
grafted  on  to  it,  is  still  mainly  the  old  Egyptian 
stock,  coming  down  from  the  days  of  the  Pharaohs. 
Nor  do  their  religious  divisions  alter  the  general 
truth  of  this, — the  older  Moslem1  families  have  no 
doubt  less  or  more  of  Arab  blood  in  their  veins, 
and  the  wealthy  families,  Turkish  or  Circassian;  but 

1  Moslem =Mohammedan.     This  information  is  not  always  superfluous  ! 


THE  FIELD  AND  THE  MAN  69 

many  Moslems  must  be  just  as  purely  Old  Egyptian  in 
race  as  the  Copts  themselves,  for  the  simple  reason  that 
they  are  only  Copts  who  have  turned  Moslem.  Now 
the  Copts  are  racially  as  nearly  pure  Old  Egyptian 
as  it  is  possible  to  find.  In  religion  they  are 
Christian.  They  represent  the  fragment  of  the 
famous  Church  of  Egypt,  which  held  to  the  faith  of 
their  fathers  when  the  rest  Islamised,  during  the 
centuries  succeeding  the  Moslem  invasion,  which 
occurred  in  the  seventh  century,  A.D.,  very  shortly 
after  Mohammed's  death.  And  alas !  the  leakage  has 
even  now  not  ceased;  hardly  a  month  passes  but  one 
hears  of  some  perversion  to  Islam. 

Ecclesiastically,  these  Copts  are  the  descendants  of 
those  Eutychians  who  broke  away  from  the  Churches 
of  both  East  and  West  in  the  fifth  century  and 
formed  the  Monophysite  heresy  in  Egypt.  And  thus 
the  national  Church  of  Egypt  remains  to  this  day, 
neither  in  communion  with  the  "Orthodox"  Greek 
Church  of  the  East  nor  with  the  "  Catholic "  Roman 
Church  of  the  West,  except  for  some  who  have 
given  in  their  allegiance  to  the  latter  and  are  called 
Copt  Catholics,  forming  less  than  a  tenth  of  the 
whole.  The  total  number  of  Egyptian  Christians  is 
still  under  a  million,  and  the  Moslems  outnumber 
them  by  about  fourteen  to  one.  The  Copts  are 
found  all  over  Egypt,  but  they  are  most  numerous 
in  Upper  Egypt,1  especially  in  the  Province  of 
Assiut. 

1  Upper  Egypt,  all  South  of  Cairo  ;  Lower,  the  Delta  North  of  Cairo. 


7o  D.  M.  THORNTON 

Owing  to  its  great  isolation,  both  geographical 
and  ecclesiastical,  and  the  hardening  effect  of  con- 
tinual persecution  and  oppression,  the  Coptic  Church 
gradually  fell  after  the  Moslem  invasion  into  a  very 
low  condition  of  spirituality — a  fact  they  themselves 
admit.  Still,  it  was  Copts  who  kept  the  torch  of 
Christianity  alight  all  through  those  dark  centuries, 
and  experience  teaches  that  they  have  not  been,  and 
are  not,  unwilling  to  be  helped.  Their  doctrinal  point 
of  dispute  with  the  rest  of  Christendom  fades  away 
in  the  realities  of  practical  religious  life.  And,  though 
they  retain  doctrines  and  practices  not  recognised  by 
the  reformed  Anglican  Church,  these  things  do  not 
make  them  so  inaccessible  as  Romanists.  For  one 
thing,  they  enjoy  an  open  Bible.  The  Scriptures  in 
Arabic  are  read  in  their  churches,  and  Bible  reading 
and  Bible  distribution  is  encouraged.  They  have  no 
doctrine  of  Purgatory,  and  this  makes  a  very  great 
difference  in  the  practical  application  of  certain  doc- 
trines which  are  not  recognised  by  the  Reformed 
Communions,  viz.  Prayers  for  the  Dead,  the  Invocation 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin  and  the  Saints,  and  the  Mass. 

It  may  not  be  superfluous  to  say  here  that  Arabic 
is  the  language  of  the  entire  people,  including  the 
Copts.  The  old  Egyptian  or  Coptic  language  gradually 
faded  before  the  sacred  language  of  Islam,  and  is  now 
a  dead  language,  only  used  in  the  prayers  of  the 
Coptic  Church,  though  the  use  of  Arabic  in  some 
of  these  prayers  is  gradually  becoming  commoner. 

No  missionary  effort  from  the  West  ever  was  made  in 


THE  FIELD  AND  THE  MAN  71 

Egypt  before  the  nineteenth  century.  Islam  remained 
in  undisturbed  possession.  At  first  Cairo  was  not  the 
most  important  of  the  Mohammedan  cities.  Damascus 
and  Bagdad  bulked  more  largely  in  the  Moslem 
mind  than  the  capital  of  Egypt — El  Kahira — Cairo,  a 
city  which,  indeed,  was  not  (properly  speaking)  founded 
till  the  third  century  of  Islam.  But  as  the  Caliphate, 
with  its  seat  in  Bagdad,  declined,  Cairo,  which  was 
already  of  first-rate  importance,  became  more  important 
still.  Her  supremacy  was  not  political;  it  was  more 
notable  than  a  political  supremacy — which,  indeed,  has 
never  been  hers, — it  was  intellectual  and  educational. 
The  university  mosque  of  El  Azhar,1  coeval  with  the 
birth  of  Cairo  itself,  became  an  international  college, 
where  thousands  of  students  from  all  over  the  Moslem 
world,  from  the  Pacific  to  the  Atlantic,  and  from 
Turkestan  to  the  Equator,  gathered,  and  to-day  still 
gather,  to  imbibe  the  traditional  learning  of  Islam, 
the  Koran,  the  Commentaries,  Arabic,  Logic,  and 
Law.  And  Cairo's  distinction  was  only  intensified 
when  the  shifting  world-centre  of  gravity  made 
the  land  in  whose  territory  lay  the  Suez  Canal 
the  most  important  country  of  the  Mohammedan 
world. 

The  Church  Missionary  Society  was  the  first  in 
the  field.  A  well-known  C.M.S.  missionary,  the  Rev. 
J.  R.  T.  Lieder,  worked  in  Cairo  from  1825  to  1862. 
As  the  Moslems  were  generally  inaccessible  in  those 
days,  he  tried  to  help  the  Copts.  There  was  no 

1  "  The  Flowery  "  (Flourishing). 


72  D.  M.  THORNTON 

thought  of  trying  to  form  an  Anglican  body  out 
of  Coptic  converts ;  the  great  object  was  by  literature 
and  theological  instruction  to  enlighten  and  help  the 
clergy  and  other  educated  Copts.  And  the  results 
showed  then,  as  in  the  time  of  Douglas  Thornton, 
that  sympathetic  effort  of  this  sort  is  welcomed  and 
does  very  great  good.  The  mission  was  nevertheless 
withdrawn  in  1862. 

The  next  workers  were  the  (American)  United 
Presbyterians.  Their  ultimate  end,  like  Lieder's 
formerly,  was,  of  course,  the  evangelisation  of  Islam. 
But  they  also  found  that  the  difficulties  of  the  task 
made  it  appear  more  fruitful  to  help  the  cause  of 
enlightened  Christianity  in  Egypt.  And  truly  a 
strong  and  enlightened  Christianity  in  Egypt  will 
greatly  accelerate  the  work  of  modern  evangelisation. 
The  Presbyterian  missionaries,  however,  had  no  objec- 
tion to  raising  up  a  native  Presbyterian  Church 
composed  of  those  Copts  who  responded  to  their 
preaching  efforts.  And  a  large  and  enlightened  com- 
munity, with  churches,  schools,  and  a  self-supported 
pastorate,  is  the  result  of  their  work.  And  they  have 
had  not  a  few  conversions  from  Islam  also. 

Finally,  after  the  British  occupation,  the  Church 
Missionary  Society  re-entered  the  country  with  a  view 
of  definitely  evangelising  Mohammedans.  Educational 
and  medical  work  was  started  with  success.  And  then 
the  late  Rev.  F.  F.  Adeney,  himself  an  able  missionary, 
but  greatly  hampered  by  ill-health,  appealed  for  men 
to  come  out  and  work  among  educated  Mohammedans, 


THE  FIELD  AND  THE  MAN  73 

especially  mentioning  the  students  of  the  famous 
Azhar  mosque,  whose  accessibility  had  been  repeatedly 
proved.  The  sending  out  of  Thornton  in  1898  was 
the  first  answer  to  that  appeal. 

"  Educated  Mohammedans "  is  a  term  embracing 
very  divergent  types.  These  divergences,  however, 
reduce  themselves  to  two  main  classes,  between  which 
there  is  a  great  gulf  fixed;  those  who  have  had  a 
traditional  Islamic  education  ending  with  the  Azhar 
University,  and  those  who  have  had  a  Western  educa- 
tion ending  with  the  Government  Secondary  School  or 
Higher  College.  In  dress  the  same  divergence  is  for  the 
most  part  marked ;  the  former  (the  "  Sheikh "  class) 
wearing  orthodox  Oriental  costume,  and  the  latter 
(the  "EfFendi"  class)  wearing  Western  dress,  with 
"tarboosh"  (or  fez). 

Such  was  the  nation,  and  such  its  races,  religions, 
sects,  and  language  to  which  Douglas  Thornton  came 
in  the  autumn  of  1898. 

He  was  coming  to  the  centre  of  Islam,  and  of  its 
inner  circle,  the  Arabic-speaking  world.  And  it  has 
been  seen  in  the  last  chapter  how  clearly  conscious 
he  was  of  this  fact ;  and  in  the  next  chapters  it  will 
appear  that  neither  the  change  of  his  environment, 
local  or  personal,  nor  the  pressure  of  great  pre- 
liminary tasks,  blunted  his  perception  of  it.  On  the 
contrary,  under  the  stress  of  this  ever-present  fact,  he, 
with  wonderful  prescience,  foresaw  and  stated  almost 
all  the  lines  of  work  which  he  ultimately  initiated  or 
wished  to  initiate.  It  speaks  volumes  for  the  unique 


74  D.  M.  THORNTON 

nature  of  his  preparation  that  maturer  experience, 
for  the  most  part,  only  endorsed  the  policy  he  advo- 
cated in  the  very  first  half-year  of  his  residence  in 
a  totally  new  field !  From  the  point  of  view  of 
missionary  strategy,  Thornton  started,  unlike  most 
missionaries,  full-grown,  mature  from  the  very  first. 

On  the  other  hand,  he,  like  the  rest,  had  to  go 
through  the  trying  apprenticeship  of  the  first  years 
abroad,  doubly  trying  to  a  man  of  his  calibre,  whose 
mind  is  full  of  great  schemes,  and  whose  whole  soul 
burns  to  speak  out  the  message  within  him.  Instead, 
he  must  go  to  school  anew;  he  must  pour  out  his 
soul  over  sounds  and  guttural  letters  and  grammatical 
rules;  he  must  be  a  dumb  man  first,  then  a  stam- 
mering blunderer,  to  the  very  people  whom  he  longs 
to  reach;  the  truths  he  burns  to  preach  he  must  put 
into  language  the  painful  inadequacy  of  which  he 
is  conscious  of,  even  as  he  speaks ;  he  must  be  content 
to  say  one-twentieth  of  what  he  means  to  say,  and 
that  in  language  so  bald  and  tame  that  even  to 
himself  it  almost  transforms  the  glorious  truth  to 
a  poor,  thinly-expressed  platitude;  he  must,  further, 
become  responsible  for  some  work  or  works  which 
he  never  started,  in  which,  perhaps,  he  feels  little 
interest,  and  for  which  he  does  not  pretend  to  be 
qualified, — work  that  may  be  a  mere  piece  of  trivial 
detail  compared  with  the  plan  drawn  in  his  own 
mind.  Even  to  a  dull  missionary  this  apprenticeship 
is  extremely  trying;  to  a  man  like  Thornton  it  is 
simply  a  death  that  he  undergoes,  because  he  knows 


THE  FIELD  AND  THE  MAN  75 

he  must  pass  through  its  grave  and  gate  to  the  life 
of  freedom  beyond.  And,  in  an  Arabic-speaking  field, 
the  stage  is  an  exceptionally  long  and  difficult  one. 

Bravely,  however,  did  he  attack  it,  doing  "the 
nexte  thynge."  And,  in  the  life  of  petty  detail, 
relevant  enough  but  none  the  less  detail,  which  he 
must  now  live,  he  found  strength  and  inspiration  in 
often  lifting  up  his  eyes  unto  the  hills  of  his  ideals 
and  aspirations. 

This  double  aspect  of  these  early  years  is  best 
brought  out  in  his  own  words — words  spoken  to  his 
colleagues  in  Cairo  at  one  of  their  weekly  gatherings 
some  years  later.  They  also  afford  a  vivid  glimpse 
into  the  essential  character  of  the  man — 

"  There  are  two  events  in  my  missionary  life  which 
have  made  a  deeper  impression  upon  me  than  any 
other  that  I  can  recall.  The  first  was  an  address  by 
our  late  remembered  Secretary,  given  in  our  old  flat 
soon  after  we  were  married,  at  the  weekly  Bible- 
reading.  In  it  he  spoke,  especially,  I  think,  to  junior 
missionaries,  or  so  at  least  it  seemed  to  me.  He 
told  us  that  the  folks  at  home  fondly  thought  that 
outgoing  missionaries  somehow  became  different  to 
ordinary  mortals  when  they  sail,  and  are  super- 
naturally  endued,  but  that  the  experience  of  those 
who  have  been  out  longest  in  the  field  goes  to  show 
that  life  in  the  mission  field  is  like  life  begun  over 
again.  We  not  only  have  to  learn  to  talk  and  read  and 
pray  again  in  unknown  tongues,  but  we  have  to  learn 
how  to  be  Christians,  and  live  a  Christian  life  as  well. 

"Another  scene  between  the  Gizeh  tram  and  ferry 
I  well  remember,  when  Mr.  Baylis,  summoning  up 
his  courage,  said  to  me,  'Thornton,  you  are  different 
to  anyone  else  I  know;  you  are  always  looking  at 


76  D.  M.  THORNTON 

the  end  of  things.     Most  people,  and  myself  included, 
find  it  better  to  do  the  next  thing.' l 

"  In  some  such  words  he  closed  a  conversation  of 
criticism  upon  the  well-known  Watchword  of  the 
Student  Volunteer  Missionary  Union.1  My  only  reply 
later  on,  in  the  Old  Cairo  tram,  was  something  like 
this,  if  I  remember  rightly :  '  I  find  that  the  constant 
inspiration  gained  by  looking  at  the  goal  is  the  chief 
thing  that  helps  me  to  persevere.' " 

These  words  give  a  very  vivid  glimpse  into  the 
mind  of  the  man  who  now  left  his  great  work  in 
England  to  take  up  an  even  greater  in  Egypt.  One 
remembers  his  striking  figure,  well  over  six  foot  in 
height,  broad  and  well  set  up,  and  holding  itself 
"  in  rather  a  grand  way,"  as  one  of  his  friends 
has  well  said.  Thus  he  was  a  decidedly  impressive 
figure  to  greet,  or  to  watch  as  he  spoke.  With  head 
slightly  flung  back  and  shoulders  well  opened  out, 
and  the  look  of  a  man  who  is  proud  of  something, 
his  appearance  was  entirely  worthy  of  one  whose 
missionary  thinking  was  "in  continents"  and  would, 
beyond  question,  have  been  "  in  planets,"  had  the 
revelation  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  reached  beyond 
our  little  earth.  He  had,  moreover,  a  fine  voice, 
a  tenor,  with,  however,  the  virility  of  a  baritone,  and 
very  wisely  he  had  had  this  voice  carefully  trained, 
so  that  not  only  was  his  singing  very  fine  when  at 
its  best,  but  his  speaking  in  a  large  hall  or  in  the 
open  air  was  very  effective.  No  sort  of  apology  was 

1  His  interlocutor  might  not,  of  course,  accept  this  as  giving  a  fully 
correct  impression  of  his  meaning. 


THE  FIELD  AND  THE  MAN  77 

there  in  that  erect  figure  with  the  grand  air,  or  in 
the  commanding  yet  intensely  sympathetic  voice,  that 
many  will  remember,  in  hall  or  on  beach,  preaching  the 
Kingdom  of  God  and  appealing  to  the  consciences  of  men. 
And  on  that  last  night  the  same  voice  pealed  down  the 
corridors  of  the  hospital,  as,  with  the  old  imperial  gestures, 
he  all  unconsciously  preached  Christ  for  the  last  time. 

The  strongly-developed  gentle  and  sensitive  side  to 
his  nature  was  clearly  apparent  in  his  mouth  and 
chin,  which  were  full  of  sensitive  and  sympathetic 
character,  and,  as  such,  quite  beautiful,  whether  they 
conformed  to  a  sculptor's  laws  of  beauty  or  not.  In 
Egypt,  moustache  and  beard  rather  concealed  this 
trait,  and  gave  his  whole  face  a  much  sterner  look, 
quite  in  keeping  with  his  splendidly  regular  nose  and 
broad,  full  forehead.  This  sterner  look,  concealing 
the  gentler,  but  not  really  altering  it,  was  rather 
typical  of  a  similar  modification  of  his  idiosyncrasy, 
which  now  in  Egypt,  as  he  himself  knew,  dropped  a 
good  deal  of  the  expressed  tenderness  which  so 
characterised  Cambridge  days.  It  is  a  change  to 
which  every  man  is  liable  in  exchanging  the  geniali- 
ties and  congenialities  of  college  life  and  work  for  the 
every-day  wear  and  tear  of  a  mission  field.  He  is 
conscious  of  it,  he  may  fight  against  it,  he  perhaps 
thinks  that  it  was  better  with  him  formerly  than 
now ;  yet  it  is  inevitable.  The  youth  is  becoming  a 
man,  and  the  integument  of  his  character  may  have 
to  be  hardened  into  firmness.  The  tenderness  will 
still  be  there,  but  it  will  find  a  different  expression. 


78  D.  M.  THORNTON 

Nothing  about  him  was  more  expressive  than  his 
hands.  They  were,  as  a  strong  contrast  to  his  great 
height  and  bulk,  almost  as  small  as  a  woman's,  beauti- 
fully shaped,  with  tapering  fingers,  nervous  to  their 
very  tips.  A  man's  strength  and  a  woman's  tender- 
ness were  speakingly  manifest  in  those  hands — the 
hands  of  a  surgeon  or  some  cunning  artificer.  They 
were  never  still.  His  passion  for  action  and  orderli- 
ness would  come  out  quite  unconsciously  at  table, 
when  the  never-resting  hands,  with  infinite  delicacy 
of  touch,  would  unceasingly  arrange  and  rearrange 
the  forks,  knives,  spoons,  and  glasses,  till  all  the  lines 
were  super-accurately  parallel,  and  all  the  angles  right- 
angles  to  the  decimal  of  a  second. 

A  similar  orderliness,  which  by  its  very  excess  often 
defeated  its  own  object,  marked  his  arrangement  of 
books  and  papers.  Not  a  single  magazine  or  paper, 
however  trivial,  could  he  bring  himself  to  destroy; 
he  would  bank  them  up  in  beautifully  ordered  piles, 
which,  however,  as  he  never  had  time  to  see  to  and  store 
them  finally  away,  tended  to  collect  in  ever-increasing 
strata  (but  always  beautifully  arranged)  all  over  his 
study. 

Method  indeed  pervaded  everything  he  did.  He 
was  really  great  at  organising,  as  we  have  already 
seen.  At  the  Birmingham  Conference  his  remarkable 
efforts  were  entirely  successful,  and  if  he  was  at 
times  partially  unsuccessful  it  was  simply  because 
he  had  not  the  time  to  give  the  organising  all 
the  attention  it  needed,  or  because  the  missionary 


THE  FIELD  AND  THE  MAN  79 

element  in  him  got  the  upper  hand ;  for  in  the 
mission  field  visionary  and  organiser  often  have  to  be 
one  and  the  same  person,  from  which  fact  flow  many 
difficulties. 

Thornton  did  not  pretend  to  be  an  all-round  man 
(it  would  have  been  fatal  had  he  been  so).  He  was 
perfectly  aware  of  his  limitations,  and  quite  humble 
about  them.  The  point  at  which  ability  in  him 
flamed  forth  into  genius  was  not  an  intellectual  but 
a  moral  and  spiritual  one,  his  genius  for  consecration 
'to  the  Kingdom  of  God.  Apart  from  that,  his 
talents  were  considerable,  if  not  startling.  His 
educational  acquirements  have  been  already  alluded 
to,  and  it  has  been  seen  that  his  most  striking 
abilities  were  extra-academically  developed.  His  topo- 
graphical sense,  his  feeling  for  locality,  was  raised  to 
a  very  high  power  by  the  wide  and  deep  missionary 
reading  he  did  for  Africa  Waiting.  He  thus  seemed  to 
have  an  instinctive  feeling  for  the  value  and  signi- 
ficance of  situation.  Put  him  in  a  new  country,  like 
Cyprus  or  Syria,  and  he  "had  the  inside  out  of  it," 
to  use  an  expressive  vulgarism,  in  a  few  days.  It 
was  this  faculty,  when  applied  to  missions,  that  made 
him  such  a  true  Pauline.  It  came  natural  to  him, 
intellectually  as  well  as  spiritually,  to  regard  a 
continent,  nay,  a  world,  as  a  unit,  and  to  grasp  and 
insist  on  the  strategic  value  of  a  certain  place  in 
relation  to  the  whole.  He  would  talk,  amid  friendly 
deriders,  as  though  he  were  contemplating  the  exten- 
sion of  missionary  operations  to  Tobolsk,  in  Russian 


8o  D.  M.  THORNTON 

Asia,  or  Sokoto,  in  Hausaland.  It  was  simply  because 
he  had  perhaps  that  morning,  in  the  Azhar  University, 
met  and  talked  with  a  Mongol  from  Tobolsk  or  a 
Hausa  from  Sokoto,  and  thus  to  him  the  places 
had  literally  become  near,  as  he  co-ordinated  them  in 
the  world-synthesis  which  his  own  studies  and  think- 
ing had  established  in  his  mind.  He  had  the 
Mohammedan  world  all  mapped  out  in  his  mind, 
just  as  he  had  a  house  when  he  had  gone  over  it 
for  the  first  time,  for  a  mighty  house-agent  was  he 
at  Cairo :  and  he  would  at  a  moment's  notice  produce 
a  wonderfully  accurate  plan  of  either  the  one  or  the 
other. 

An  ideal,  a  vision,  was,  then,  absolutely  necessary  to 
him.  He  could  not  work  without  it.  And  it  is  this 
that  explains  the  largeness  of  his  views  and  the 
magnitude  of  his  schemes ;  their  uncomfortable  magni- 
tude, as  those  responsible  for  other  schemes,  and  for 
the  financing  and  controlling  of  the  whole,  often  very 
naturally  thought.  As  he  himself  wrote  a  few  years 
later,  "I  find  that  the  constant  inspiration  gained  by 
looking  at  the  goal  is  the  chief  thing  that  helps  one 
to  persevere." 

His  genius  was,  then,  primarily  synthetic  rather  than 
analytic,  intuitive  rather  than  logical.  Of  course  it  is 
impossible  entirely  to  separate  the  two  in  anyone,  but 
in  most  men  one  predominates.  Thornton  had  also  a 
power  of  analysis,  but  it  was  apt  to  be  defective.  He 
could  argue  logically,  but  being  more  keen  about  the 
conclusion  to  which  he  had  arrived  by  intuition  than 


THE  FIELD  AND  THE  MAN  81 

about  the  premisses  by  which  he  afterwards  sought  to 
establish  it,  he  not  seldom  appeared  very  illogical, 
especially  as  (like  most  men  of  this  rapid  order  of 
mind)  he  would  approach  his  subject  from  many 
points  of  view,  with  an  appropriate  argument  for  each, 
which  arguments,  when  compared,  often  turned  out 
contradictory.  To  other  minds  it  often  appeared  as 
if  a  conclusion,  so  questionably  established,  must  be 
itself  unsound.  (Hinc  lacrimce.)  But  this  was  by 
no  means  necessarily  the  case.  Everybody  saw  the 
inconsistency,  and  that  he  really  thought  backwards, 
not  very  convincingly  sometimes ;  but  the  wise  pon- 
dered the  conclusion.  And  as  has  been  remarked,  that 
conclusion  generally  turned  out  right,  and  he  himself 
to  be  before  his  time  in  insisting  on  it.  The  trouble,  if 
any,  resided  in  the  fact  that  he,  like  many  men  of  this 
type,  liked  to  be  thought  logical  as  well  as  intuitional ; 
and  a  quite  unnecessary  passion  for  seeming  consistent, 
and  being  in  the  right,  would  make  the  man  himself 
blind  to  the  inconsistencies  of  his  arguments,  and  set 
him  harmonising  the  same,  or  meeting  the  arguments 
advanced  by  others  against  him,  with  sophistries  that 
were  rather  galling  to  those  whose  formal  logic  was 
more  correct.  This  was  a  pity,  for  it  tended  to  create 
a  mistrust  that  retarded  even  the  schemes  which  were 
perfectly  sound.  But  so  it  will  be  till  the  end  of  time. 
We  remember  the  picture  of  a  Baring  working  with  a 
Gordon  in  a  certain  famous  recent  autobiography.  The 
brake  is  not  merely  a  useful  but  a  necessary  institution. 

And   it    is   Nature   who   has   decreed   that   when   the 
6 


82  D.  M.  THORNTON 

machine  has  to  be  slowed  down,  friction  is  the  mode 
of  energy  that  she  uses. 

This  explains  the  universal  reputation  he  had  for 
rashness;  and  the  fact  that  he,  whose  genius  was 
emphatically  practical,  was  often  written  down  un- 
practical. In  a  sense  this  reputation  was  unmerited, 
and  one  sympathised  with  his  indignant  disclaimers. 
In  the  sense  indicated  above,  however,  they  were  not 
unfounded.  We  are,  all  of  us,  paradoxical  creatures. 
And  another  aspect  of  this  particular  paradox  was 
that  he  was  often  tolerant  of  criticism,  and  humble 
under  rebuke,  yet  when  criticised  would  often  make 
a  tremendous  fuss  and  to-do,  sometimes  being  less 
than  just  to  his  critics,  and  so,  unconsciously,  deterring 
them  from  criticising  in  the  future. 

The  same  traits  came  out  in  his  practical  genius,  for 
he  was  intensely  practical.  In  finding  and  fitting  up 
a  house,  in  organising  concerted  work,  in  mastering 
details  related  to  publishing,  type-setting,  printing,  and 
a  hundred  other  things,  he  was  admirable.  He  thought 
that  versatility  was  a  missionary  obligation.  In  the 
early  agonies  of  bringing  out  a  periodical  in  Cairo,  his 
colleague  once  demurred  to  going  into  the  machining- 
room  and  criticising  the  inking  apparatus  of  the 
printing-machine,  mildly  suggesting  that  the  printer 
knew  his  business,  and  that  he  did  not.  "I  am  a 
missionary,  and  it  is  my  duty  to  be  ready  to  do 
anything  and  everything,"  was  the  uncompromising 
reply. 

He  was  so  full  of  ideas  of  how  things  should  be  done, 


THE  FIELD  AND  THE  MAN  83 

and  so  keen  to  put  things  through,  that  the  Oriental, 
entirely  unequal  to  keeping  the  pace  set,  sometimes 
exhausted  his  patience  more  than  was  right.  And  the 
same  trait  often  made  him  unduly  anxious  to  have 
things  done  in  his  way — the  practical  counterpart  of 
his  little  weakness  for  seeming  in  the  right  in  argu- 
ment. On  the  other  hand,  he  had  a  real  and  generous 
sympathy  for  those  whose  mistakes  were  the  honest 
result  of  temperamental  deficiencies. 

Indeed,  generosity  was  fundamental  with  him.  No 
one  knows  the  extent  of  his  giving,  because  he  was 
ever  stern  in  his  insistence  on  keeping  the  left  hand 
in  ignorance  of  the  doing  of  the  right.  But  generosity 
is  more  than  "giving."  Jealousy  or  meanness  simply 
did  not  exist  for  him;  another's  success  gave  him  as 
much  pleasure  as  his  own.  When  his  colleague  came 
out  to  Cairo,  he  put  at  his  disposal  all  his  hard-won 
linguistic  experience  of  his  first  year,  and  nothing 
touched  one  more  than  to  see  the  pride  he  took  in  a 
colleague's  achievements,  even  when  they  surpassed  his 
own. 

On  the  side  of  pure  intellect  he  was  not  original ;  but 
he  had  infinite  capacity  for  taking  pains.  His  method 
of  assimilation  was  curious.  It  might  be  called  whole- 
sale— so  much  so  that  you  might  have  concluded  that 
it  was  purely  imitative.  He  would  read  a  book  for  an 
address,  and  in  the  address  pass  out  what  he  had  taken 
in  pretty  much  in  its  entirety.  And  yet  there  was 
assimilation :  in  some  indefinable  way  you  felt  that  it 
had  become  his.  Sometimes  he  took  the  trouble  to 


84  D.  M.  THORNTON 

write  the  thing  out,  though,  indeed,  the  writing  proved 
but  the  transcription  of  the  book  itself.  But  the 
getting  of  it  down  on  paper  made  it  his,  and  one  felt 
it  was  his.  In  this  way  he  attained  a  sound,  service- 
able knowledge  of  theology  and  history  and  allied 
subjects,  so  that  he  could,  without  difficulty,  both  write 
and  talk  in  an  interesting  way  on  a  large  variety  of 
topics. 

The  same  laboriousness  characterised  his  language- 
study,  as  we  shall  see.  He  had  not  a  great  gift  for 
languages,  and  he  owed  it  entirely  to  his  indefatiga- 
bility,  and  his  power  of  discerning  and  working  towards 
an  end,  that  he  acquired  so  serviceable  a  knowledge  of 
the  difficult  Arabic  tongue. 

Like  many  men  of  a  mainly  practical  cast,  the 
poetic  and  the  prosaic  lay  rather  in  streaks  in  his 
nature.  The  former  was  certainly  not  absent, — who 
could  be  a  visionary  without  having  a  poetical 
side?  But  technically,  it  was  inchoate.  And  very 
much  the  same  could  be  said  as  to  his  humorous 
side.  No  man  with  such  a  gorgeous  laugh  or  such 
a  love  of  fun  could  be  called  deficient  in  humour. 
But  he  had  blind  spots  in  this  connection,  and  was 
often  more  amusing  than  he  tried  to  be.  He  had  a 
delightful  way  of  mixing  up  two  kindred  proverbs 
or  idioms.  Once  he  told  his  companions  that  "he 
always  had  two  strings  up  his  sleeve."  They  then 
asked  him  if  he  also  had  another  card  to  his  bow? 
Such  things  enliven  heavy  committee  meetings.  At 
student  conferences  or  committees  the  airy  and 


THE  FIELD  AND  THE  MAN  85 

irresponsible  type  of  Hibernian  wit  was  quite  un- 
intelligible to  him,  but  he  would  smile  on  the 
bhoys  when  they  seemed  to  be  enjoying  themselves, 
even  though  he  failed  to  see  where  the  joke  lay. 
Very  likely  he  had  made  it  himself,  and  the 
Hibernians  were  only  audibly  enjoying  it.  At  such 
times  he  would  rock  himself  backwards  and  forwards 
ejaculating,  "Oh,  those  Irishmen!"  intensely  pleased, 
if  still  in  the  dark.  ^Esthetically,  he  had  a  keen  eye 
and  ear  for  beauty.  Landscape  always  spoke  to  his 
heart,  and  he  was  sympathetic  to  its  significance.  In 
music,  his  taste  though  untrained  was  extraordinarily 
sure.  One  always  knew  the  passages — some  of  the  great 
passages  of  music — where  one  could  elicit  from  him 
a  deep  inarticulate  sound,  in  which  enjoyment  and 
yearning  were  indistinguishably  blent.  His  singing 
was  very  fine  and  expressive,  though  he  never  had 
time  to  increase  his  small  repertory  of  songs.  But 
his  singing  of  the  songs  he  had  was  essentially  that 
of  an  artist,  and  none  will  forget  the  concentrated 
passion  he  threw  into  his  sacred  songs  which  formed 
one  of  the  chief  features  of  the  annual  Christmas 
"musical"  at  Cairo. 

In  contact  with  men  Thornton  manifested  great 
qualities.  In  Cambridge  days,  an  Oxford  man  (who 
had  seen  him  in  his  glory)  described  "the  genius 
of  D.  M.  Thornton  in  keeping  a  large  party  of 
freshmen  going."  He  could  keep  them  all  entertained 
and  at  their  ease.  He  was  successful  with  boys 
at  boys'  camps,  and  he  was  supremely  successful 


86  D.  M.  THORNTON 

with  children  at  seaside  and  other  services,  where 
his  passionate  fondness  for  little  children  and  tender- 
ness for  them  —  traits  which  were  later  on  only  em- 
phasised by  the  sterner  side  of  his  character  which 
marked  Cairo  days  —  made  him  an  ideal  worker 
among  the  young.  The  wonderful  devotion  which 
he  lavished  upon  every  individual  of  the  family  of 
his  stepmother  has  been  already  mentioned.  It  can 
be  gauged  by  this  one  fact:  before  he  offered  to  the 
Church  Missionary  Society,  he — Douglas  Thornton — 
actually  offered  to  his  stepmother  to  stay  at  home  if 
she  felt  she  needed  him  in  the  bringing-up  of  the 
younger  boys ! 

He  was  a  splendid  friend,  loyal  to  the  core.  How 
thoughtful  and  kindly  he  was  is  revealed  by  scores 
of  letters  to  old  friends  to  whom  he  would  write,  in 
some  cases  regularly,  in  other  cases  from  having  had 
their  names  brought  to  his  mind  in  some  chance 
way.  Those  in  trouble  were  sure  of  sympathy  and 
help  from  him. 

In  Egypt  he  left  a  beloved  name;  a  name  that 
very  possibly  will  become  proverbial  in  years  to 
come.  This  was  not  because  he  found  it  easy  to 
adapt  himself  to  Eastern  ways,  or  because  he  was  in 
all  respects  intelligible  to  Egyptians.  Quite  the 
contrary.  The  outward  reserve  which  grew  upon 
him  after  1898  made  the  multiplicity  of  salaams 
prescribed  by  custom  in  Egypt  quite  painful  to  him; 
and  yet,  later  on,  he  became  himself  quite  distinguished 
for  profusion  of  salaams.  The  handshake,  a  duty  before, 


THE  FIELD  AND  THE  MAN  87 

became  a  real  pleasure.  His  high  sense  of  the 
universality  of  Christ,  the  brotherhood  of  man,  the 
sacred  missionary  duty  of  being  one  with  the  people 
to  which  he  had  come,  went  very  far  to  modify  the 
inveterate  Anglo- Saxonism  of  his  natural  man;  or  at 
anyrate  threw  into  relief  the  reality  of  the  effort, 
and  the  love  that  inspired  it.  That  spoke  for  itself, 
and  it  is  this  that  has  left  the  final  impression  in 
Egypt,  easily  effacing  incidental  misunderstandings  or 
partial  failures  in  temper  or  in  sympathy.  The  broad 
impression  remains  of  a  man  who  understood  Egypt 
and  the  Egyptian,  and  was  the  true  friend  of  the 
people,  strong  in  the  sympathy  which  comes  of  funda- 
mental love  for  men,  and  that  sympathetic  study  of 
the  manners,  habits,  thoughts,  and  aspirations  of  the 
people,  which  is  born  of  love. 

And  what  appealed  to  all  appealed  to  the  Egyptian 
also,  the  quality  in  which  his  talents  rose  to  genius, 
his  total  self-consecration  and  self-abandonment  to  the 
"  one  thing," — the  Kingdom  of  God.  He  sought  first 
the  Kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteousness ;  and 
to  the  memory  of  such  a  one  all  other  things  may 
be  added.  It  is  not  necessary  to  elaborate  this 
aspect  here  and  now,  for  the  whole  of  this  book  is 
simply  the  elaboration  of  it.  It  will  speak  for  itself. 
We  shall  see  how  every  hour,  every  waking  thought, 
every  journey,  every  holiday,  every  letter,  every  talent, 
every  interest,  was  dedicated  to  the  one  cause. 
Nearly  two  thousand  pages  of  letters  and  many  other 
papers  of  his  remain,  and  it  might  with  truth 


88  D.  M.  THORNTON 

be  said  they  all  either  directly  concern  the  work  or 
are  in  intimate  relation  to  it.  He  did  masses  of 
writing,  often  sitting  up  late  to  finish.  What 
impelled  him  ?  His  one  interest, — the  Kingdom.  It 
was  impossible  to  stop  him  working;  only  a  journey 
in  a  foreign  country,  the  language  of  which  he, 
fortunately,  did  not  know,  could  keep  him  from 
efforts  which  proved  as  tiring  as  work  in  Egypt 
itself,  by  turning  the  busy  brain  into  new  channels 
of  interest,  topographical  or  antiquarian.  England 
became  a  perfect  trap  to  him.  During  his  furlough, 
ironically  so  called,  his  "holiday"  consisted  in  writing 
more  letters  than  ever,  meditating  vast  schemes,  and 
arranging  and  holding  all  sorts  of  meetings.  It  was 
not  right.  And  yet  some  men  seem  impelled  to  do 
this  sort  of  thing,  self-devoted  to  a  cause  which  never 
lets  them  rest;  and  in  them  this  self -squandering 
becomes  part  of  the  appeal  of  their  lives.  Others 
who  follow  will  have  little  difficulty  in  being  wiser: 
yet  from  his  unwisdom  sounds  the  call  to  a  like 
self-devotion  none  the  less  loudly. 

It  was  difficult  to  keep  pace  with  him.     To  see  him 
was  to  know  what  that  word  means — 

"To  scorn  delights  and  live  laborious  days." 

He  would  plan,  discuss,  or  write  till  far  into  the  night ; 
rarely  did  he  take  an  evening  off  work ;  sometimes  he 
was  waylaid  as  he  went  out  for  a  very  short  spell  of 
exercise  by  a  Sheikh  or  some  other  one  who  sought 
speech  with  him,  and  without  a  murmur  he  would  give 


THE  FIELD  AND  THE  MAN  89 

up  his  plan  and  sit  down  to  a  conversation  which  would 
perhaps  last  far  past  his  dinner-hour — a  totally  neglig- 
ible appointment.  In  the  train,  on  the  steamboat,  on 
the  desert  expedition,  he  was  ready  for  the  opportunity 
which  if  he  did  not  find  he  would  generally  make. 
When  a  friend  saw  him  off  to  Upper  Egypt  on  one  of 
the  last  occasions  he  went  and  found  him  an  empty 
carriage.  "  An  empty  carriage ! "  he  said.  "  Why,  man, 
I  want  to  fish  !  "  And  before  the  train  had  started  the 
friend  on  the  platform  found  himself  ignored,  and 
D.  M.  T.  hard  at  work  in  a  carriage  full  of  Egyptian 
officers  and  effendis.  He  was  inexhaustibly  fertile  in 
new  ideas,  and  plans  for  advance.  "  Sometimes  when 
he  spoke  with  us,"  said  one  young  Copt,  "  he  would  lean 
his  head  on  his  hand  in  silence.  We  thought  that  his 
thoughts  had  wandered,  but  when  he  raised  his  head  it 
was  to  bring  out  some  new  idea  or  proposal:  he  had 
been  thinking  all  the  time ! "  And  so  it  was.  All  day, 
and,  if  he  lay  awake,  in  the  watches  of  the  night,  the 
restless  mind  turned  over  and  over  the  problems  of  the 
work,  how  to  realise  his  dreams,  ever  trying  to  make 
two  and  two  come  out  at  more  than  four.  Or  the  bell 
of  the  Catholic  convent  at  dawn,  or  the  sound  of  the 
muezzin  in  the  watch  before  the  morning,  when  the  air 
seems  eerily  alive  with  microphonic  sound,  would  turn 
his  thoughts  to  God  and  to  prayer ;  and  when  the  morn- 
ing was  come  he  would  tell  us  of  his  visions  of  the 
night. 

Neither  wife  nor  friend  could  check  him,  though  he 
palpably  aged  during  the  last  two  years — this  man  of 


90  D.  M.  THORNTON 

thirty-four !  —  and  though  doctors  warned  him  that 
the  pace  could  not  be  kept  up.  "  I  feel  an  old  man,"  he 
once  confessed  during  that  last  year.  No  doubt  the 
strain  on  his  whole  organism  predisposed  him  to  the 
ravages  of  that  fatal  enteric  fever  which  brought  him 
down  after  his  inspiring  and  memorable  missionary 
journey  in  Upper  Egypt.  And  the  last  delirium  was 
the  final  revelation  of  his  total  self-absorption  in  the 
great  Employ ;  when  for  eight  long  hours  we  heard  him 
turn  from  aspect  to  aspect  of  the  work,  and  from  fellow- 
worker  to  fellow-worker.  The  work  was  not  the  em- 
ployment of  his  life,  it  was  his  life.  And  the  last 
distinguishable  words  overheard  from  him  were  just 
these,  "The  Work!" 

Such  a  phenomenon  is  not  an  effect  without  a  cause. 
But  what  was  the  cause  behind  such  intensity  of 
self-devotion  as  this  ?  Seek  it  in  the  life  of  Paul.  The 
devotion  to  the  Kingdom,  whether  on  the  part  of  the 
old  Apostle  or  the  young  missionary,  had  its  secret  in 
their  self -surrender  to  its  King.  The  story  of  the  time 
when  Christ  called  and  was  answered  has  already  been 
told.  It  is  enough  to  say  —  and  the  facts  make  the 
statement  obvious — that  the  fire  then  kindled  burned  to 
the  end. 

But  into  that  secret  place  where  the  soul  meets  with 
its  Lord,  who  shall  intrude  ?  The  direct  and  conscious 
communion  between  the  spirit  of  Douglas  Thornton 
and  Christ's  Spirit,  this,  and  only  this,  can  account  for 
the  strange  intensity  with  which  he  sought  first  the 
Kingdom  of  God.  The  genesis  of  this  experience  has 


THE  FIELD  AND  THE  MAN  91 

been  already  described  in  his  own  words,  where  we  have 
the  history  of  the  "  Revelation  of  the  Person  "  of  Christ 
first  during  his  brother's  illness,  and  then  at  Keswick 
in  1893.  "  The  Revelation  of  the  Person  ! "  that  most 
awful  of  realities !  the  meeting  of  a  soul  with  God ! 
That  this  revelation  was  never  withdrawn  is  guaranteed 
to  us  by  the  story  of  his  life.  It  is  here,  and  here  alone, 
that  we  find  a  cause  adequate  to  account  for  so  great 
an  effect  as  the  labours  of  Douglas  Thornton. 


CHAPTER    VI 

THE   FIRST  SIX  MONTHS 

THORNTON  started  working  hard  at  the  language,  but 
as  he  found  he  had  largely  to  make  his  own  method  of 
study,  it  was  a  considerable  time  before  he  found  his 
feet.  The  interesting  study  of  the  language  methods  he 
evolved  may  be  therefore  postponed  until  a  little  later. 

He  arrived  on  24th  November,  and  on  27th  November 
(Advent  Sunday) — after  three  days  in  Cairo ! — he  wrote 
"a  short  preface  to  his  journal  on  the  need  of  the 
city  of  Cairo " !  It  is  well  worth  while  reproducing 
this  in  full — 

"This,  the  first  of  'The  Egyptian  Nights,'1  must  be 
ushered  in  with  '  dignity '  befitting  so  great  an  occasion. 
The  world  has  for  hundreds  of  years  been  acquainted 
with  the  '  Arabian  Nights,'  but  never  yet  have  any 
tales  of  nights  spent  in  Egypt  been  the  subject  of  a 
similar  work ! 

"  It  is  right  that  such  Nights  should  be  spent  in  the 
greatest  Arab  city  of  to-day,  even  as  they  were  spent 
in  the  greatest  Arab  city  then.  And  Cairo  is  worthy 
of  such  a  theme,  with  its  500,000  souls,  including  men 
from  almost  every  nation  under  heaven.  It  is,  indeed, 
a  meeting-place  of  the  races  of  men !  Here  are  to  be 

!  His  fanciful  title  for  his  journal  letters. 
92 


THE  FIRST  SIX  MONTHS  93 

found  the  Armenian,  the  Syrian,  the  Greek,  the  Turk, 
and  the  Jew ;  the  Egyptian,  the  Berber,  the  Sudanese, 
and  the  Negro,  with  many  descendants  of  the  prophet 
Muhammad  himself,  and  other  Arabs  of  the  Northern 
and  Southern  tribes.  Then  there  are  the  French,  the 
English,  and  the  American  in  no  small  numbers,  with 
a  sprinkling  of  other  European  nationalities.  I  daresay 
that  before  long  I  shall  have  discovered  others  also. 
Truly  this  is  a  centre  of  the  East ! 

"  But  Cairo  is  not  only  cosmopolitan,  it  is  the  centre 
of  Muhammadanism.  More  shall  be  said  later  on  about 
the  University  of  Al  Azhar,  which  I  have  been  sent 
here  to  seek  to  influence.  In  subsequent  letters  I  shall 
hope  to  give  you  some  account  of  the  various  Muslim 
sects,  especially  those  to  be  found  here.  In  time  I  hope 
to  have  learnt  enough  of  this  masterpiece  of  languages 
to  be  able  to  discourse  upon  its  beauties,  and  its  influence 
in  the  world.  Then  we  shall  have  to  hear  something 
about  the  sacred  book  of  Islam,  and  what  it  teaches  its 
followers,  both  as  to  religious,  and  political  and  civil 
duties.  No  place  better  than  Cairo  can  be  found  in 
which  to  learn  all  these  things.  And  it  will  take  many 
years  of  work.  At  present  I  can  but  look  forward  and 
wonder  how  ever  it  will  be  possible  to  grapple  with  all 
these  things.  We  count  on  your  prayers  as  often  as 
God  shall  lead  you. 

"  Then  again,  Cairo  is  the  capital  of  a  country, — one 
which  has  over  and  over  again  been  conquered  and 
ruled  by  other  world-powers,  such  as  the  Persian,  the 
Grecian,  the  Roman,  the  Arab,  the  Vandal,  the  Turk, 
the  French,  and,  last  of  all,  the  English.  But  still 
Egypt  is  a  country  of  its  own,  and  after  age-long 
changes  as  to  its  size,  i.e.  as  to  whether  it  should  extend 
only  as  far  as  the  desert  of  Nubia,  or  as  far  as  the 
farthest  source  of  its  wonderful  river,  the  Nile,  it  is 
once  more  called  upon  (since  the  recent  victories  of  its 
soldiers,  led  by  English  officers  and  supported  by  British 
and  Sudanese  troops),  to  govern  at  least  1,000,000 


94  D.  M.  THORNTON 

square  miles,  not  even  including  the  two  more  southerly 
provinces  of  '  Bahr  al  Ghazal '  and  the  '  Equatorial.' 
At  the  very  lowest  estimate  these  contain  15,000,000 
people,  but  more  probably  nearer  20,000,000. 

"  So  then  we  see  that  if  Cairo  is  influenced  for  Christ, 
not  less  than  one-eleventh  of  Africa  is  influenced 
thereby  as  well ;  and  if  Cairo  is  influenced,  the  indirect 
effect  will  be  felt  throughout  the  whole  Muslim  world, 
with  very  few  exceptions." 

Nor  was  this  the  limit  of  his  outlook.  On  the  very 
day  after  his  arrival  he  writes  of  a  quiet  day  for 
the  mission  at  Helouan  (after  expressing  his  thorough 
enjoyment  and  appreciation  of  it  all) — 

"  The  only  criticism  I  have  to  make  is  that  the 
prayers  were  too  largely  self-centred,  or  Egypt-centred" l 

And  then — 

"  On  the  way  to  Helouan  you  get  a  lovely  view  of  the 
Pyramids  of  Giza  across  the  Nile,  with  the  background 
of  endless  desert  behind  them.  As  the  sun  sets  over 
this  scene  the  thoughts  of  Africa  unevangelised  beyond 
are  very  stirring" l 

And,  when  he  addressed  a  meeting  of  Egyptian 
"Gleaners'  Union"  members  by  interpretation,  he 
writes — 

"  I  hope  the  '  Gleaners '  will  now  begin  to  think  and 
pray  more  about  the  Nile  Valley  and  the  whole  Sudan. 
All  the  way  back  [to  Old  Cairo,  where  he  at  first 
resided]  I  talked  about  Northern  Africa  with  Habeeb. 
I  explained  my  text-book  to  him,  and  showed  him 
Livingstone's  epitaph,  etc.  He  seemed  much  astounded 
at  it  all." 

1  Italics  not  in  original. 


THE  FIRST  SIX  MONTHS  95 

0  vitula  gracilis  atque  formosa  ^Egyptus,  stimulator 
ab  Aquilone  venit  ei  ! 

The  subject  of  the  Nile  Valley  and  its  evangelisa- 
tion was  greatly  on  his  mind  that  first  year ; 
Omdurman  had  just  been  fought,  and  it  seemed 
already  possible  to  advance  into  the  Upper  Nile 
provinces  and  start  work  among  the  black  tribes  of 
Gordon's  first  administration  in  1874.  He  himself  was 
told  to  hold  himself  in  readiness  to  go  south  for  a 
time,  if  necessary.  We  have  some  very  interesting 
memoranda  of  his  on  this  subject,  showing  how  he 
loved  to  grasp  a  great  situation,  even  if  he  was  also 
apt  to  jump  to  a  rather  large  conclusion — 

"Dec.  22.  After  tea  spent  the  whole  evening  reading 
Bm&n  Pasha  in  Central  Africa,  and  annotating.  It  was 
quite  a  revelation  to  me  to  find  that  the  Shuli,  north  of 
Unyoro,  speak  the  same  language  as  the  Shilluk  around 
Sobat.  This  seems  to  me  to  point  clearly  to  the  need 
for  us  to  attack  and  learn  this  language.  It  must  be 
a  very  strong  one  to  have  been  preserved  during  such  a 
migration." 

After  this  we  are  not  surprised  to  find  the  following 
entry  for  the  next  day : — 

"  Dec.  23.  Spent  the  morning  in  writing  to  the  family, 
re  the  Upper  Nile  valley  races.  I  think  I  have  made 
an  unmistakable  case  out  for  Shuliland  being  occupied 
from  Uganda  as  a  base." 

Before  he  had  been  ten  days  in  the  place,  he  had 
come  full  up  against  the  problem  of  the  Coptic 


9  6  D.  M.  THORNTON 

Church,  and  as  that  problem  remained  with  him  till 
the  end,  and  some  of  his  best  work  was  put  into  it 
during  his  last  year,  it  is  very  valuable  to  see  the 
way  it  first  presented  itself  to  him.  It  may  be  said 
at  the  outset  that  his  first  conclusions  wonderfully 
resemble  his  finally  matured  ones,  even  down  to 
details.  And,  with  certain  reservations,  it  may  be  said 
that  in  the  interval  also  between  these  first  and  these 
last  he  did  not  change  in  his  ideas. 
Here  is  the  way  it  began — 

"  Dec.  3.  ...  I  then  repaired  to  All  Saints'  Church  for 
a  quiet  time.  ...  At  the  west,  and  behind  the  font,  is  an 
inscription  to  General  Gordon,  with  the  last  words  to 
his  sister  inscribed  on  it.  This  had  a  sobering  effect  on 
me,  and  I  went  next  door  to  call  on  the  Butchers  in  the 
spirit  of  prayer." 

The  result  of  his  visit  and  conversation  with  Mrs. 
Butcher,  a  well-known  authority  on  the  Coptic  Church, 
and  a  great  friend  of  the  Copts,  was  a  foregone 
conclusion.  It  set  him  studying.  He  much  ap- 
preciated his  intercourse  with  the  Dean  and  Mrs. 
Butcher.  The  two  who  first  met  that  day — the  old 
clergyman,  who  fell  on  sleep  after  a  long  and 
beautiful  service  rendered  to  his  generation,  and  the 
young  one,  who  was  cut  off  in  the  midst  of  his 
days — received  their  home-call  in  the  same  year,  nine 
years  later,  and  were  laid  under  the  cypresses  in  the 
British  cemeteries  between  the  Nile  and  the  Arabian 
desert. 


THE  FIRST  SIX  MONTHS  97 

Thus  he  writes — 

"  My  visit  to  the  Butchers  set  me  reading.  I  at  once 
procured  Mrs.  Butcher's  book,  The  Story  of  the  Church 
of  Egypt,  and  read  carefully  what  Stock  has  written 
about  the  C.M.S.  policy  as  propounded  at  different  times, 
re  the  Eastern  Churches." 

His  views  matured  rapidly,  as  he  characteristically 
took  immediate  steps  to  get  into  touch  with  as  many 
Coptic  leaders  as  he  could.  He  called  formally  on 
the  leading  Coptic  priest  of  Old  Cairo,  holding  that 
it  was  no  more  than  his  clear  duty  to  do  so,  "just 
as  you  would  call  on  a  parish  clergyman  at  home"; 
and  he  received  calls  from  them.  Of  one  such  he 
wrote — 

"If  genuine,  one  cannot  but  feel  the  old  man  is  a 
Latimer,  the  preacher  of  a  Reformation ;  or  a  Wycliffe, 
without  a  Wycliffe's  knowledge." 

This  was  perhaps  rather  premature. 

Here  is  his  account  of  one  of  these  early  calls  made 
after  church  on  Christmas  morning,  and  described  as 
follows  on  the  same  afternoon.  It  is  interesting  in 
itself,  and  shows  well  how  his  mind  was  working — 

*  O 

A  COPTIC  PRIEST'S  HOUSE  IN  OLD  CAIRO. 

"Come  with  me  to  the  remains  of  an  old  fortress, 
called  Kasr-el-Shamma,  which  lies  just  behind  the 
C.M.S.  Hospital  and  the  other  side  of  the  Helouan 
rails.  We  go  through  an  old  gateway  which  shows 
many  signs  of  age,  yes,  and  even  of  wars ;  for  in  days 
gone  by  it  was  within  this  fortress,  and  others  like  it, 
7 


9  8  D.  M.  THORNTON 

that  the  Coptic  Christians  sought  to  preserve  their 
treasures  from  the  ravages  of  the  fanatical  Moslems. 
As  we  pass  along,  we  notice  that  ancient  pillars  have 
been  placed  as  thresholds  to  the  doors  of  the  inhab- 
itants. It  is  a  surprise,  too,  to  see  so  many  buildings, 
not  all  of  them  in  use,  but  left  just  as  they  are,  until 
perchance  their  stones  are  needed  for  some  other 
building,  and  thus  removed,  leaving  crumbling  rubbish 
behind  them. 

"  After  several  windings,  we  find  our  way  to  the 
priest's  dwelling-place.  The  door  is  opened  by  one  of 
the  family,  and  we  are  taken  up  and  up  the  stairs,  in 
this  case  to  the  second  floor.  One  wonders  what  is  kept 
in  the  regions  below !  Sometimes  it  is  the  cattle ;  at 
anyrate  the  place  is  very  dark  and  stuffy,  even  in  winter. 

"  Having  mounted  the  stairs,  we  are  led  through 
the  parlour  or  kitchen  to  the  guest-room  which  opens 
out  of  it.  The  fireplace  is  on  the  left,  and  the  reclining 
sofa  drawn  up  to  its  side,  just  as  in  cottages  at  home. 
Further  stairs  lead  up  to  the  top  storey,  but  there 
seems  little  or  no  furniture  in  the  parlour,  not  even 
a  table.  So  we  enter  the  guest-room.  Just  over  the 
doorstep  are  several  slippers  to  be  worn  within,  so  as 
not  to  dirty  the  Turkish  carpet.  A  handsome  oval 
table  stands  in  the  middle,  overlaid  with  a  marble  slab 
of  a  kind  that  is  very  common  here.  There  is  no 
tablecloth.  Around  the  room  on  every  side  are  simple 
reclining  sofas.  Their  construction  is  of  the  simplest 
kind,  but  they  are  of  the  greatest  convenience.  They 
consist  of  long  boards,  covered  with  hair  cushions  of 
the  same  size,  and  the  backs  are  made  of  the  same 
material  and  the  same  size,  except  that  there  is  no 
woodwork  at  the  back.  Such  sofas  can  be  folded  up 
and  easily  carried.  These  sofas  had  cream  coloured 
covers  over  the  somewhat  faded  drugget  below.  In  some 
houses  they  have  movable  arms  or  supports,  so  as  to 
divide  the  sofa  into  two  or  three.  Only  two  rocking 
cane  arm-chairs  varied  the  sitting  accommodation. 


THE  FIRST  SIX  MONTHS  99 

"  The  walls  are  painted,  and  even  have  a  dado.  So 
are  the  windows,  three  in  number,  two  of  which  over- 
look the  winding  court  below  and  the  roofs  of  the 
houses  opposite.  There  are  no  blinds,  but  lattice-work 
over  the  top  half  of  the  window.  Sometimes  it  is  over 
the  bottom  half,  and  in  Moslem  houses  it  is  a  complete 
covering.  In  front  are  white  curtains,  canopied  as  in 
many  English  houses  with  curtain  hangings.  These 
are  blue  and  bordered.  There  are  a  few  pictures  on 
the  wall,  and  the  first  one  you  notice  is  that  of  the 
Madonna  and  Child,  both  of  them  being  crowned.  Two 
others  have  ordinary  gold  frames,  and  three  photos 
are  cased  in  leaf-shaped  frames,  evidently  made  of 
plaited  palm  leaves  painted  green  and  gold.  I  notice 
one  open  grating  on  the  left,  near  the  roof,  letting  in 
fresh  air  from  the  bedroom.  Underneath  it  is  a  chest 
of  drawers,  which  forms  the  sum  total  of  the  fittings. 
While  upon  it  lie  one  candelabra,  two  massive  bronze 
candlesticks,  a  soiled  brass  bottle  for  water,  and  a 
stand  lamp  for  reading  purposes,  only  the  shade  has 
disappeared.  I  must  not  forget  to  mention  the  large 
American  clock,  or  the  wood-beamed  roof. 

"You  see  that  one  of  the  leading  Coptic  priests  in 
Cairo  is  not  a  wealthy  man.  His  house  is  plain  and 
fairly  clean,  but  nothing  more.  I  would  not  have 
been  able  to  have  given  you  this  account  unless  he  had 
been  out,  and  so  enabled  me  to  make  some  observations. 
I  was  escorted  hither  by  Mrs.  Butcher,  the  English 
chaplain's  wife,  to  see  him.  He  has  just  returned  my 
call  this  afternoon,  and  wants  me  to  come  again.  I 
will  not  then  describe  his  church,  which  Mrs.  Butcher 
showed  me,  until  he  has  shown  it  me  himself.  All 
I  will  mention  here  is  that  his  and  the  other  church 
that  I  have  seen  are  full  of  antiquarian  interest.  I 
hope  to  make  a  fuller  study  of  them  later  on. 

"  May  I,  in  closing,  ask  you  to  pray  for  this  Christian 
Church?  God  has  preserved  it  all  through  the  times 
of  Moslem  persecution,  for  over  one  thousand  years. 


ioo  D.  M.  THORNTON 

Its  numbers  have  largely  increased  since  the  incoming 
of  the  British,  and  the  consequent  religious  toleration 
introduced.  The  Coptic  laity  have  been  educated  in 
large  numbers  during  the  last  generation  by  the 
American  Mission  in  their  schools  all  over  the  country. 
But  the  Coptic  clergy  are  in  many  cases  ignorant. 
They  need  a  great  awakening.  There  are  signs  that 
it  is  coming." 

The  following  entry,  also  on  Christmas  Day,  shows, 
however,  that,  more  suo,  he  was  critic  and  inspector 
as  well  as  sympathiser: — 

"Over  the  Coptic  church  I  was  much  interested  in 
all  I  saw.  I  felt  called  upon  to  reprimand  the  keeper 
for  the  slovenly  way  in  which  the  vestments  were 
kept,  and  for  the  grease  on  the  altarcloth." 

On  the  9th  January  (1899)  he  enlarged  his  experi- 
ence by  visiting  the  Coptic  headquarters  at  the 
"  Patriarchate,"  and  the  newly  established  Theological 
Seminary  established  there.  Looking  back  now,  one  is 
touched  to  think  of  that  first  visit ;  for  he  was  to  have 
most  important  relations  with  that  Patriarchate  and 
that  Theological  College ;  and  nine  years  later  two 
bishops  and  two  deacons  from  that  Patriarchate,  and 
a  tutor  from  that  college,  were  to  give  addresses  over 
his  grave,  and  at  the  memorial  service  held  later  by 
the  Copts  for  him. 

"  Jan.  9th.  I  went  to  call  upon  the  Coptic  professor, 
and  to  be  taken  by  him  over  the  Coptic  College.  .  .  . 

"  On  being  asked  whether  I  thought  the  singing  nice, 
I  said  I  wanted  to  ask  a  question,1  '  Why  did  they  not 

[ l  Diplomatic  !  ] 


THE  FIRST  SIX  MONTHS  101 

encourage  prayer  in  a  language  understood  by  the 
people?'  Our  Coptic  professor  objected  here,  and  said 
it  was  necessary  to  preserve  the  Coptic  language.  But 
Prof.  Mincarius,  the  leader,  seemed  to  argue  that  the 
idea  was  right,  and  would  come  in  time.  One  felt  that 
some  good  must  come  from  the  study  of  the  Word,  but 
that  what  is  needed  is  some  supplementary  agency 
within  the  college  for  the  deepening  and  awakening 
of  spiritual  life  of  the  students — yes,  and  professors. 
This  is  a  matter  for  earnest  prayer." 

But  he  was  not  content  with  visiting  priests  and 
professors ;  from  the  very  first  he  had  succeeded  in 
getting  in  touch  with  some  of  the  most  leading  and 
earnest  Coptic  laity.  Some  of  those  who  figure  in 
the  very  earliest  pages  of  his  diary  are  the  best  and 
most  valued  friends  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society 
to-day.  Only  two  days  after  the  talk  with  Mrs. 
Butcher,  he  had  a  call  from  one  of  these  gentlemen. 
He  was  much  pleased  with  this  visit,  and  writes — 

"  Dec.  4.  Holding,  as  he  does,  such  a  high  position  in 
the  country,  I  would  like  to  see  him  taking  the  lead  in 
starting  a  C.M.S.  within  the  membership  of  the  Coptic 
Church.  This  would  lead  on  to  establishing  a  college 
for  training  Coptic  evangelists,  priests,  etc.,  to  be 
missionaries  of  such  a  society.  This  in  turn  would 
do  much  to  revive  the  Church  itself,  as  the  C.M.S.  has 
done  to  the  Church  of  England.  The  difficulty  is  this, 
that  very  few  Copts  recognise  that  they  have  a  duty 
to  Moslems  and  Arabic-speaking  races." 

A  very  great  deal  of  future  effort  and  work  can  be 
detected,  in  germ,  in  this  interview,  held  on  his  tenth 
day  in  Cairo ! 


102  D.  M.  THORNTON 

A  little  later  we  find  him  having  two  more  inter- 
views with  the  leading  Coptic  laymen,  earnestly  dis- 
cussing with  them  the  question  of  the  improvement 
of  Coptic  candidates  for  the  priesthood. 

A  third  Coptic  layman,  a  most  valuable  man,  now 
one  of  our  best  friends,  was  visited  later  on,  at  the 
time  when  the  Cairo  staff  was  making  preparations 
for  commemorating  the  centenary  of  the  Church 
Missionary  Society.  Sermons  were  preached  in  Cairo 
and  Alexandria  —  upon  these  it  is  unnecessary  to 
dwell.  A  more  important  proposal  was  to  hold  a 
meeting  for  Coptic  gentlemen  and  clergy,  and  describe 
to  them  the  aims  and  work  of  C.M.S.,  and  appeal  to 
them  to  do  something  towards  Moslem  evangelisation. 
Thornton  visited  this  gentleman  in  his  house — 

" Bey  became  most  friendly,  offered  to  introduce 

me  to  all  his  Coptic  friends  (the  men  of  influence)  and 
Bishop  Comboni.  He  gave  me  some  most  encouraging 
facts  about  the  enlightenment  of  individuals,  the  state 
of  education,  and  the  starting  of  Coptic  schools,  the 
manifest  results  of  Lieder's  work,  e.g.  in  the  case  of  his 
father.  He  attributed  to  the  patient  work  of  Lieder 
the  fact  of  the  possibility  of  the  present  reform.  .  .  . 

"I  came  away  full  of  thankfulness  at  such  an 
unexpected  reception.  One  felt  that  here  one  was 
dealing  with  a  like  mind,  with  a  man  who  has  secured 
a  leading  position,  and  is  open  to  all  that  is  good  and 
true." 

The  meeting,  when  it  came  off  on  24th  March, 
greatly  pleased  and  encouraged  him.  Twenty -five 
Egyptian  gentlemen  were  present,  including  the  editor 


THE  FIRST  SIX  MONTHS  103 

of  one  of  the  Coptic  daily  papers,  two  lecturers  of  the 
Theological  College,  etc.  Not  only  missionary  questions, 
but  others,  such  as  religious  instruction  in  schools,  were 
brought  up,  and  the  help  and  co-operation  of  C.M.S 
missionaries  were  asked,  especially  as  to  how  to 
improve  the  study  of  the  Bible.  Whereat  Thornton 
remarks  in  his  diary — 

"  This  was  in  itself  a  challenge  to  me  to  take  up  the 
work  of  Bible  exposition." 

And  his  comment  on  the  whole  incident  was — 

"  This  day,  if  I  mistake  not,  will  prove  to  mark  the 
first  public  return  to  the  old  C.M.S.  policy  of  influencing1 
the  Copts  for  Christ,  as  well  as  Moslems.  Almost,  in 
spite  of  itself,  C.M.S.  policy  has  had  to  take  them  into 
account  at  last,  through  the  spirit  in  which  we  have 
sought  to  work  for  the  centenary." 

It  may  surely  be  said  that  this  enthusiastic  outburst 
was  justified  by  the  history  of  the  next  ten  years,  and 
that  Thornton  himself  was  the  one  chiefly  instru- 
mental in  the  fulfilment  of  at  least  some  of  these 
hopes.  He  lived  long  enough  to  do  some  Bible  exposi- 
tion work,  which  is  being  found  useful  by  Coptic 
teachers  and  students.  The  reform  of  Bible  teaching 
in  Coptic  schools  did  not  come  until  the  school-year 
just  before  which  he  was  removed  by  death  —  a 
characteristic  instance  of  how  very  slowly  the  Oriental 
mills  grind.  This  reform  has  been  very  largely  due 
to  the  efforts  of  the  very  gentleman  whose  first 

1  i.e.  helping  them  in  every  way,  not  proselytising  them. 


104  D.  M.  THORNTON 

interview  with  Thornton  has  just  been  related.  And 
one  of  the  last  services  upon  which  Thornton  was 
just  embarking  was  to  give  advice  upon  the  text- 
books for  Scripture  lessons  which  had  been  used,  or 
should  be  used,  in  Coptic  primary  schools. 

Followed  the  inevitable  memorandum  !  Its  interest 
is  too  great  to  allow  of  its  being  omitted  here. 

THE  CONDITION  OF  THE  COPTIC  CHURCH. 

"  In  answer  to  several  enquiries  as  to  the  Copts  in 
Egypt  by  friends  at  home,  I  will  endeavour  to  place 
before  you  some  facts  that  I  have  been  able  to  ascer- 
tain about  their  history  for  the  last  fifty  years,  and  their 
present  position  in  the  country  from  an  educational, 
religious,  and  national  point  of  view.  In  so  doing,  it 
may  be  that  considerable  light  will  be  thrown  upon 
the  extent  to  which  C.M.S.  is  able,  and  please  God  will 
decide,  to  help  them  during  the  present  generation. 

"  It  was  the  accession  of  Mohamed  Ali  to  power  at 
the  beginning  of  the  century  that  witnessed  the  ameli- 
oration of  the  Copts  from  the  terrible  state  to  which 
they  had  been  reduced  by  centuries  of  Moslem  perse- 
cution. His  long  reign  of  nearly  fifty  years  (1803-48) 
saw  the  introduction  into  Egypt  of  many  European 
ideas.  The  Copts  were  not  slow  to  profit  by  them,  and 
mingled  freely  with  Europeans,  gaining  from  them 
many  new  ideas.  And  it  was  at  such  an  opportune 
time  as  this  that  the  first  C.M.S.  mission  to  Egypt 
was  started.  The  preliminary  visits  of  Jowett  (i2th 
wrangler,  1810,  and  fellow  of  St.  John's  College,  Cam- 
bridge, and  first  University  graduate  to  go  forth  in  the 
service  of  the  Society),  which  were  paid  between  1819 
and  1825,  were  followed  by  the  five  missionaries  from 
the  Basle  Seminary.  Gobat,  the  most  well  known  of 
these,  afterwards  became  Bishop  in  Jerusalem.  But  it 


THE  FIRST  SIX  MONTHS  105 

was  Lieder  who  seems  to  have  persevered  at  his  task 
the  most,  so  much  so  that  he  stayed  here  till  his  death 
in  1865.  In  all  he  seems  to  have  done  more  than  thirty 
years'  work  in  Egypt. 

"  The  eventual  success  of  his  work,  though  not  in  the 
exact  way  that  he  had  hoped,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
the  greatest  reforming  patriarch  whom  the  Copts  have 
ever  had  (Cyril  x.,  1854-61)  used  regularly  to  attend 
Lieder's  Bible-class  before  his  consecration.  So,  too, 
one  of  his  pupils  became  Abuna,  or  head,  of  the 
Abyssinian  Church.  But  not  only  so.  There  are 
still  to  be  found  priests  in  Upper  Egypt  who  were 
trained  by  Lieder,  and  have  long  been  engaged  in 
preaching  the  gospel  to  their  congregations  in  a  quiet 
way.  And  if  I  may  be  pardoned  for  saying  a  word, 
which  was  told  me  by  one  of  the  most  influential  Coptic 
laymen  of  to-day,  I  am  led  to  believe  that  a  great  deal 
of  his  desire  for  the  reformation  of  the  Church  was 
implanted  by  his  father.  Now  his  father  also  was  a 
pupil  of  Lieder.  Truly  his  works  do  follow  him. 

"  And  yet  the  strange  thing  is,  that  the  general  idea 
among  the  leaders  of  the  C.M.S.  at  home  is  that  this 
first  mission  was  a  failure.  It  certainly  came  to  an  end 
in  1862,  three  years  before  the  death  of  Lieder,  partly 
due  to  this  impression.  There  were  many  reasons  why 
it  was  not  felt  possible  to  carry  on  the  work  in  Egypt. 
India  and  China  and  other  parts  of  the  world,  with 
greater  needs,  had  just  become  open  to  the  gospel  in 
a  special  way.  What  claim  then  had  Egypt,  with  its 
5,000,000  people,  as  compared  with  India's  250,000,000, 
and  China  with  its  350,000,000  souls  ?  Little,  indeed. 
So,  too,  Cyril  the  reformer  had  just  been  removed  by 
poison  from  his  beneficial  work.  This  gave  little  hope 
that  the  task  of  '  the  enlightenment  of  Oriental  Churches' 
would  prove  to  be  successful.  And  the  disasters  which 
befel  the  Constantinople  Mission  of  the  Society  so  soon 
after,  seemed  to  show  that  there  was  little  security  to 
missionary  enterprise  in  the  Turkish  Empire. 


106  D.  M.  THORNTON 

"  All  this  was  changed  by  the  advent  of  the  English 
in  1862.  The  Egyptian  Government  is  now  conducted 
upon  the  principle  of  toleration  to  religions.  And 
though  the  Coptic  Church  seems  still  to  be  the  only 
one  that  receives  no  contribution  from  the  Budget 
towards  its  ceremonies  and  places  of  worship,  there  is 
more  and  more  respect  shown  to  people  of  other  religions 
by  the  Moslems.  In  fact  there  cannot  be  said  to  be  any 
external  reasons  of  importance  which  can  prevent  the 
much  desired  reformation.  On  the  other  hand,  many 
things  have  helped  to  hasten  such  a  process.  The  work 
of  the  American  Mission  has  not  only  prepared  the  way 
by  the  diffusion  of  the  Scriptures  and  the  widespread 
education  of  the  people,  but  it  has  stirred  up  the  leaders 
of  the  Coptic  Church  itself  to  do  the  same.  The  140 
American  primary  schools  are  being  competed  with  by 
the  50  Coptic  schools  that  have  recently  been  started. 
In  both  of  them  English  as  well  as  Arabic  is  studied 
(still  with  the  alternative  of  French  in  the  latter,  as 
leading  more  directly  to  advance  in  the  legal  profession). 
And  now  in  the  Coptic  schools  a  move  is  being  made  for 
the  regular  teaching  of  the  Bible.  These  schools  com- 
pare well  in  numbers  with  the  Government  primary 
schools,  which  are  as  yet  only  40  in  number.  So,  too, 
a  Coptic  college  has  been  started  in  Cairo,  to  vie  with 
the  Government  colleges  which  are  run  on  similar 
lines.  Lastly,  a  Theological  College  has  been  estab- 
lished for  training  young  men  for  the  secular  priesthood 
of  the  Coptic  Church.  And  though  the  staff  of  teachers 
is  not  efficient  enough,  nor  is  theology  or  Church  history 
taught  to  any  adequate  extent,  still  a  start  has  been 
made. 

"  It  is  at  such  a  time  as  this  that  the  C.M.S.  centenary 
is  being  observed,  and  in  order  to  carry  out  the  spirit  of 
the  home  committee,  it  was  felt  right  by  the  members 
of  our  mission  to  seek  the  co-operation  of  all  Christians 
in  Egypt  at  the  time  of  our  rejoicings.  A  meeting, 
therefore,  was  called  of  many  leading  Coptic  laymen 


THE  FIRST  SIX  MONTHS  107 

at  the  house  of  one  of  them,  to  submit  to  them  a  letter 
we  are  issuing  to  Christians  in  Egypt  for  their  approval. 
The  subject  of  the  tract  being  '  The  Duty  of  Preaching 
the  Gospel  to  the  Moslems,'  it  was  a  bold  stroke  to  ask 
them  to  circulate  it  and  act  upon  it.  But,  so  far  as  we 
can  see,  it  will  prove  to  be  a  successful  one,  for  every 
leading  Copt  is  to  receive  a  copy  of  the  tract.  The 
meeting  confessed  that  Copts  did  not  try  to  win  the 
Moslems,  for  they  were  so  hard  to  win.  But  they  all 
expressed  a  desire  that  the  Bible  should  be  taught  in  all 
their  schools.  Many  of  them  wished  to  come  together 
again  to  consider  how  to  promote  the  better  study  of 
the  Bible.  Some  said  they  would  come  to  our  evangel- 
istic meetings  and  try  and  help  us  now  and  then.  The 
leading  member  of  the  meeting,  the  editor  of  one  of  the 
largest  daily  papers,  carried  the  whole  meeting  with 
him  in  his  appeal  to  us  to  help  them  towards  reform." 

From  what  has  already  been  seen  of  the  way 
Thornton's  mind  worked,  it  is  not  surprising  to  find 
a  memorandum  upon  the  subject  of  work  among  young 
men  in  Cairo,  another  subject  which  was  to  engage  his 
deep  attention  in  the  future. 

He  wrote — 

"  I  am  trying  to  discover  what  percentage  of  the  one 
hundred  thousand  young  men  of  Cairo  know  English 
sufficiently  to  come  to  lectures.  It  is  certain  that  their 
number  is  increasing  rapidly,  and  the  demand  for  a 
knowledge  of  English  is  very  great,  especially  so  since 
the  Sudan  campaign.  Lord  Cromer's  recent  report  is  an 
excellent  study  along  this  line,  as  an  indication  of  the 
progress  of  English  ideas  under  Government,  and  hence 
Moslem,  auspices.  I  see  he  has  it  that  the  number  of 
Government  scholars  who  learn  English  in  Government 
schools — 40-60  I  believe  in  number,  containing  about 
5000  pupils — has  increased  from  1063  to  3869,  while 


io8  D.  M.  THORNTON 

those  studying  French  have  decreased  from  2994  to 
1881 ;  and  this  number  will  next  year  undergo  a  still 
further  reduction,  because  the  study  of  French  used  to 
be  necessary  for  all  who  wished  to  be  '  avocats.'  But 
this  autumn  the  study  of  French  or  English  will  be 
optional. 

"Lord  Cromer's  report,  however,  only  deals  with  a 
small  percentage  of  schools  in  Egypt.  I  don't  know 
how  many  Jesuit  and  Roman  Catholic  schools  there  are 
besides,  but  the  Copts  now  have  50,  with  2000  pupils, 
and  the  American  Mission  has  160  boys'  schools,  with 
8000  pupils.  In  the  latter,  English  has  always  been 
taught;  in  the  former,  English  and  French  have  been 
taught,  and  the  percentage  is  much  the  same  as  in  the 
Government  schools. 

"  I  take  it  that  at  least  3000  +  8000  +  1000  (?)  = 
12,000  boys  are  now  learning  English  in  Egypt,  i.e. 
2000  more  every  year  (the  course  is  six  years).  And 
notice  that  of  these  75  per  cent,  come  under  some 
Christian  influence.  It  is  a  wonderful  record  as  com- 
pared with  India. 

"  From  the  above  it  is  obvious  that  a  knowledge  of 
French  is  needed  to  reach  the  older  generation  of  men 
in  Cairo,  but  that  English  will  reach  a  growing  number 
of  the  rising  generation.  Arabic  is  necessary  for  all, 
but  especially  good  Arabic  for  literary  purposes,  and 
colloquial  or  Fellahin  Arabic  for  reaching  the  masses. 

"  These  are  the  tools. 

"  For  these  reasons  I  have  adopted  the  plan  of  learn- 
ing Arabic  colloquially  through  the  medium  of  French, 
from  a  French  Arabic  scholar,  while,  especially  from  a 
theological  point  of  view,  I  am  studying  classical  Arabic 
by  comparison  with  English.  The  latter  is  of  course 
very  slow,  hard  work.  The  former  plan,  ever  since 
I  regularly  adopted  it,  has  proved  an  unhoped-for 
success.  I  think  colloquial  Arabic  in  French,  whenever 
I  do  not  know  the  Arabic  word.  And  by  so  doing,  I  am 
learning  two  languages  at  once.  It  is  an  experiment,  I 


THE  FIRST  SIX  MONTHS  109 

admit,  but  seeing  that  some  of  the  best  dictionaries  and 
grammars  and  other  works  are  in  French  and  Arabic, 
and  by  the  Jesuits,  I  think  later  on  I  shall  find  it  a 
great  success.  N.B. — When  I  got  to  Calais,  I  had  even 
forgotten  how  to  ask  for  a  cup  of  tea." 

The  key  to  successful  relations  between  the  Church 
Missionary  Society  and  the  Copts  is  the  fact  that 
the  former  never  for  a  moment  loses  sight  of  its 
direct  object  of  Moslem  evangelisation,  and  Thornton 
from  first  to  last  held  faithfully  to  this  principle. 
And  the  following  incident  (from  this  early  period) 
shows  that  he  already  thirsted  to  begin  the  direct 
work  among  individuals,  for  which  he  never  lost  his 
keenness : — 

"  FIRST  APOLOGY  FOR  MY  CHRISTIAN  BELIEF  IN 
EGYPT. 

"The  day  for  which  I  have  long  been  waiting  and 
preparing  has  come.  And  for  the  first  time  I  have 
been  put  on  the  defensive  as  to  the  fundamentals  of 
my  faith  since  I  set  foot  in  the  mission  field.  Never 
has  an  hour  and  a  quarter  been  spent  with  greater 
thankfulness  that  I  am  a  disciple  of  Jesus  Christ. 
None  but  those  who  have  tasted  the  joy  of  vindi- 
cating the  eternal  claims  and  message  of  Jesus  can 
enter  into  one's  feelings  at  such  a  time.  Hitherto  I 
have  always  had  to  lead  the  attack,  when  speaking 
in  broken  French  or  in  half-understood  English  with 
strangers  upon  the  electric  trams,  or,  as  in  one  case,  with 
a  member  of  the  Egyptian  Ministry.  But  to-day  two 
visitors  were  brought  to  me  by  my  Arabic  teacher,  to 
converse  upon  some  of  the  verities  of  Christianity. 
Both  of  them  were  lawyers  of  good  position  in  Cairo. 


no  D.   M.  THORNTON 

One  of  them  has  been  before  to  another  of  our  clerical 
missionaries." 

The  full  account  of  the  discussion  need  not,  however, 
be  quoted  in  full.  It  ranged  over  the  questions  of 
Magic,  the  Witch  of  Endor,  Eternal  Judgment  for  Sin, 
Dives  and  Lazarus,  Purgatory,  Miracles,  and  the 
Resurrection !  Here  is  the  impression  which  this  inci- 
dent made  on  him — 

"  At  this  point  the  interview  was  closed  till  next  time. 
Our  friends  will  come  again.  They  are  anxious  for 
further  conversation.  And  there  are  many  like  them 
in  this  great  city.  Time  will  show  how  many,  and 
how  accessible.  But  of  this  I  am  confident,  from  com- 
parison of  experiences  given  me  by  other  missionaries 
in  India  and  in  Africa,  that  nowhere  is  there  more 
toleration  of  religion  in  the  Mohammedan  world  than 
here.  (And  here  I  would  correct  a  widespread  and 
false  impression  going  about  at  home  on  this  point.) 
It  may  be  that  many  of  the  Ulemas  of  the  Al  Azhar 
are  fanatical  at  heart.  It  may  be  that  they  and  many 
others  among  the  populace  would  oppose  in  public  if 
they  dared.  But  the  laws  of  government  are  based 
to-day  upon  the  principle  of  toleration,  and  hence  there 
is  a  door,  almost  as  yet  untouched,  for  literary  and 
conversational  work  among  the  educated  Moslems  here. 
Their  very  closing  words  to  rne  were  to  the  effect  that 
some  of  the  books  on  my  shelf  should  be  put  into  the 
hands  and  language  of  the  Mohammedans.  This  is 

A   CHALLENGE. 

May  God  raise  up  a  band  of  men  to  come  out  here 
equipped  for  this  work  of  preaching  Christ  in  the 
greatest  city  of  Africa  and  the  Moslem  world,  from 
which  have  gone  forth  during  the  last  hundred  years 


THE  FIRST  SIX  MONTHS  in 

more  missionaries  of  Islam  than  all  Reformed  Christen- 
dom— yes,  and  Christendom  itself — has  sent  to  champion 
Christianity,  and  show  to  the  world  the  Love  of  Christ 
which  passeth  knowledge." 

The  observations  about  French  are  a  rather  amusing 
example  of  the  elaborate  way  he  liked  to  do  things. 
He  stuck  gamely  to  his  Arabic-French  teacher,  but,  in 
the  excitement  of  learning  Arabic,  the  French  came  less 
and  less  spontaneously ;  so  it  got  rarer  and  rarer,  and 
the  lessons  ended  by  being  in  Arabic  only.  The  fact 
is  that  if  Arabic  is  known,  French  is  almost  entirely 
unnecessary ;  though  once  he  got  to  know  a  Turkish 
Pasha,  and  needless  to  say  earnestly  sought  to  influence 
him  for  Christ,  and  talked  French  on  that  occasion,  for 
the  Turks  frequently  know  little  Arabic. 

The  object  in  this  chapter  and  the  next  is  to  show 
how  all  the  lines  along  which  Thornton  afterwards 
worked  were  foreseen  and  laid  down  by  him  with 
extraordinary  perspicacity  within  a  few  weeks  of 
reaching  Cairo.  Several  have  been  already  mentioned, 
and  another  one  of  first-rate  importance  must  now  be 
discussed — the  question  of  evangelisation  by  means  of 
literature. 


CHAPTER   VII 

THE  FIRST  six  MONTHS — continued 

ON  the  7th  February,  after  a  little  over  two  months 
in  the  field,  Thornton  wrote  as  follows : — 

"  I  cannot  tell  you  how  much  more  I  am  impressed 
by  these  aspects  day  by  day.  We  must  see  the 
thinkers  of  Christendom  <£iAocro<£oi  of  missions.  So  far 
we  have  had  only  individual  workers  at  the  problems. 
Why  not  whole  teaching  staffs  ?  Why  not  ?  A  modern 
race  of  '  schoolmen  upon  missions ' !  If  the  historical 
and  philosophical  aspects  are  grappled  with,  we  shall 
win  a  better-educated  type  of  student,  as  well  as  those 
whom  God  has  so  far  given  to  us.  For  they  will  see 
that  Christian  philology  needs  their  aid,  their  greatest 
gifts.  These  languages  are  giants.  So  far  they  have 
been  well  -  nigh  giants  '  Despair.'  Why  not  giants 
'  Hope '  ?  I  hear  from  Dr.  Guinness  (whom  I  have 
seen  here  lately  more  than  once)  that  Dr.  H.  Guinness' 
travels  in  South  America,  Peru,  etc.,  have  made  him 
stagger  at  the  enormity  of  the  task  that  lies  before 
translators  still.  I  forget  the  number  of  languages 
he  says  there  are.  Several  thousand  to  those  forty 
million  people  alone  !  Then  Africa  has  its  six  hundred 
at  least — five  hundred  quite  untouched  as  yet,  and  Asia, 
too, — who  knows  how  many  more  ?  Now,  if  our  motto 
be  the  Will  of  God,  there  must  be  some  way  of  coping 

with  this  mighty  task.     But  surely  it  is  quite  as  im- 

112 


THE  FIRST  SIX  MONTHS  113 

portant  as  the  student  question  in  itself?  I  think, 
myself,  that  scholars  will  do  much  better  work  in 
grappling  with  these  languages  than  specialising  on 
what  is  called  'student  work.'  Organisers,  who  are 
men  of  God,  and  winners  of  souls,  can  do  the  latter. 
None  but  painstaking  scholars  can  do  the  former.  The 
more  we  know  about  the  mission  field,  the  more  we 
shall  realise  the  truth  of  this.  Races  and  tribes  in 
Central  Africa  that  have  no  'Word  of  God'  crowd 
to  my  memory  as  I  say  this. 

"What  I  long  to  see  the  C.M.S.  Committee  doing 
is  to  frame  some  definite  policy  prayerfully — minot- 
ful  of  other  needs  as  well,  I  know, — e.g.  to  lay  it 
down  that  Cairo  be  made  the  centre  of  an  all-round 
mission  for  training  Egyptians,  as  well  as  heal- 
ing Egyptians  and  teaching  their  boys  and  girls 
the  a  be. 

"  Given  such  a  policy,  then  to  aim  at — accomplishing 
it,  and  at  making  such  a  decision  known  in  an  appeal 
for  men.  The  importance  of  laying  a  strong  foundation 
here  should  be  recognised  as  much  as  it  was  by  our 
military  officials,  who  for  thirteen  years  have  been 
training  Egyptian  soldiery  to  fight  the  Dervishes. 

"  An  appeal  ought  to  be  got  out "... 

And  he  thus  closes — comprehensively ! 

"Lines  of  Work  Urgently  Needed. 

"  I.  Evangelistic  services,  which  could  be  conducted 
in  any  number  of  centres  if  only  we  had  the  native 
staff  to  work  them. 

"  II.  Bible  classes,  for  teachers,  Copts,  and  Moslems, — 
varying  in  size  from  one  to  dozens. 

"  III.  Training  classes,  for  teachers  and  young  men 
in  the  city,  in  English,  over  and  above  the  elementary 
school  standard.  This  work  should  be  taken  up  by  a 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  which  is  badly 
needed  here. 
8 


H4  D.  M.  THORNTON 

"IV.  Literary  work.  Formation  of  a  devotional 
and  controversial  Christian  literature  for  the  Moslem 
world.  The  work  at  Beyrout  is  nothing  like  sufficient, 
excellent  though  it  is.  Besides,  the  Syrian  and  Egyptian 
colloquials  differ  in  important  points  and  words.  A  whole 
series  of  aids  to  the  study  of  the  Bible  are  needed  here. 
They  have  no  such  series  in  existence,  only  isolated 
books,  and  these  not  of  the  best  in  many  cases.  Such 
work  would  be  equally  useful  for  the  Sudan  in  years 
to  come,  and  it  will  take  many  years  of  labour,  with 
the  aid  of  native  scholars. 

"V.  Educational  work.  There  ought  really  to  be  a 
High  School,  like  the  American  one  at  Assiut,  for  there 
is  plenty  of  room  for  one. 

"  I  think  these  will  be  enough  for  the  present,  though, 
you  see,  I  have  not  touched  the  medical  or  women's 
work  at  all." 

This  is  remarkable.  He  had  been  just  two  and  a 
half  months  in  Egypt,  and  yet  there  is  not  a  single 
item  mentioned  here  (except  No.  V.)  which  he  did  not 
attempt  in  due  time  —  nullum  fere  genus  non  tetigit, 
nullum  quod  tetigit  non  ornavit: — and  much  of  his 
last  "furlough"  in  1904  was  spent  in  exertions — 
fruitless  and  dispensable,  it  is  to  be  feared — to  realise 
No.  V.  also. 

The  idea  mentioned  fourth  took  quite  permanent 
possession  of  his  mind.  On  Easter  Sunday  he  wrote 
to  a  colleague  whom  he  expected  to  join  him — 

"Long  have  I  meditated  on  Stanford's  map  of  the 
Nile  Valley.  Every  visitor  to  the  house1  must  have 
a  look  at  it.  Day  after  day  I  open  it  and  study  its 

1  He  had  now  moved  from  Old  Cairo  to  reside  with  a  colleague  in  the 
north  of  the  city. 


THE  FIRST  SIX  MONTHS  115 

contents.  It  is  the  burden  of  my  heart  that  all  these 
tribes  be  reached.  It  was  Gordon's  wish  .  .  . 

"  But  now  look  at  Egypt,  India,  China,  and  Japan. 
In  Cairo,  undoubtedly,  you  can  learn  the  best  Arabic  in 
the  world,  and  get  one  or  two  excellent  teachers.  What 
is  more,  were  you  to  go  to  India  or  other  Moslem  lands, 
e.g.  Sudan,  Persia,  etc.,  later  on,  no  time  spent  here 
could  be  wasted.  Everyone  that  has  studied  Arabic 
at  Masr  (Cairo)  is  respected  all  the  Arabic  world  over. 

"  Remember  that,  on  the  one  hand,  what  you  write 
here  will  soon  reach  India  as  quickly  as  it  can  reach 
England.  It  will  also  find  entrance  into  other  Moslem 
lands,  and,  not  least,  the  Nile  Valley.  Written  and 
classical  Arabic  is  the  same  (nearly)  all  the  world 
over.  .  .  . 

"  What  the  Moslem  world  needs  are  Christian  tracts 
and  Christian  expositions  of  the  Bible.  It  needs  them 
sorely.  It  may  involve  a  visit  or  a  mission  to  India,  so 
as  to  find  out  what  exactly  is  needed  there.  It  certainly 
will  involve  a  correspondence  and  a  drawing  together 
of  Moslem  workers.  My  scheme  for  a  conference  of 
missionaries  to  Moslems  at  Cairo  may  be  nearer  than  we 
think.  It  would  help  to  unify  our  methods  of  work,  and 
to  remove  overlapping  in  our  work,  and  to  strengthen 
one  another  in  the  Lord,  and  to  give  our  works  wider 
circulation  among  each  other's  missions.  So  much  for 
direct  literary  work.  Now,  how  can  preparation  be 
made  for  this  ?  Surely  by  Bible  classes  and  expositions. 
And  where  better  than  in  Cairo  can  these  be  given  ? 
What  other  city  under  Christian  influence  has  more 
Moslems  or  more  Christians  in  the  East  ?  You  have 
hundreds  of  the  latter  here  to  influence,  educated  and 
enlightened,  even  though  not  often  really  converted. 
You  have  the  thousands  of  the  Al  Azhar  of  the  former, 
several  of  whom  are  beginning  to  enquire.  I  can  see 
clearly  that  you  and  I  could  (each  three  evenings  a 
week)  hold  Bible  classes,  that,  on  good  authority,  would 
(I  believe)  be  widely  attended.  At  these  we  might  take 


n6  D.  M.  THORNTON 

courses  of  teaching,  as  St.  Paul  did  in  the  house  of 
Tyrannus.  In  this  way  we  could  build  up  in  time  a 
topical  and  paragraphical  literature  upon  Christianity 
and  the  Bible.  Then  if  the  work  grew  beyond  our 
powers,  we  could  petition  for  more  workers  from  home. 
I  can  see  no  limit  to  the  likely  influence  of  this  work. 
It  will  touch  all  North  Africa,  and  Syria,  and  Egypt 
whence  the  Al  Azhar  students  come.  It  will  pro- 
foundly influence  the  Coptic  and  the  American  Churches 
here.  It  will  supply  the  East,  in  a  lifetime,  with  what 
it  needs,  next  of  all  to  the  Bible,  and  maybe  we  should 
be  able  to  revise  the  Bible  also.  By  God's  blessing  it 
should  lead  to  the  reformation  of  the  Coptic  Church 
by  her  own  members  (the  time  is  ripe  for  it),  to  the 
raising  up  of  an  army  of  voluntary  evangelists  and 
workers  filled  with  the  love  of  Christ.  And  so  a  vast 
area  would  be  influenced. 

"This  is  my  vision.  This  my  programme.  It  does 
appeal  to  me  mightily.  I  cannot  possibly  carry  it  out 
without  you.  God  knows  that.  This,  then,  is  my 
appeal,  brother,  to  you.  The  Lord  bless  you  and  guide 
you  to  His  will." 

It  is  really  impressive  to  read  these  words,  and  to 
see  how  almost  practically  all  the  methods  he  dreamed 
of  here — some  of  them  things  that  were  not  even  upon 
the  horizon — were,  one  by  one,  put  into  execution. 

Evangelisation !  It  was  always  before  his  mind, 
whether  at  his  doors  or  at  farthest  range.  He  takes 
a  few  friends  round  the  Cairo  bazaars  and  streets, 
and  writes  (mark  the  close) — 

"  I  took  them  the  round  again  from  the  Muski  to 
Saida-Zainab  and  back  vid  the  Abdeen.  We  passed 
courts  open  to  the  road,  with  fountains  and  gardens 
within,  cafe's,  with  men  seated  on  a  pedestal  reading 


THE  FIRST  SIX  MONTHS  117 

the  Koran  aloud,  shops  of  every  description  and  size, 
lighted  minarets  and  dark  passages,  groups  at  cards  or 
dominoes,  families  chattering  over  their  soup,  fruiterers 
with  orange  piles  ablaze  with  light,  tinsmiths,  gold- 
smiths, jewellers,  bakers,  tinkers,  tailors,  apothecaries, 
and  the  like  all  huddled  together,  line  upon  line  of 
them, — the  most  favourite  occupation  seeming  to  be 
that  of  bootmaker,  or  maker  of  that  speciality — the 
Egyptian  shoe. 

"It  was  a  great  experience,  and  all  the  ride  lay 
through  parts  of  the  city  quite  unreached,  four  miles 
at  least  of  the  very  heart  of  all.  Truly  one  realised  the 
need  in  a  wonderful  way." 

But  not  Cairo  only.  The  total  problem  of  Moham- 
medan evangelisation  was  ever  with  him.  His  house 
lay  on  the  northern  edge  of  the  city,  and  it  was  his 
delight  to  go  up  to  the  roof  and  pace  up  and  down, 
and  meditate,  and  pray.  Let  him  speak  about  the 
thoughts  that  came  to  him  on  one  such  occasion — 

"A  MEDITATION  ON  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD. 

"It  was  the  day  of  prayer  for  the  Mohammedan 
world,  and  so  I  went  up  on  to  the  roof  of  our  domain 
to  meditate,  a  place  from  which  you  get  a  very  beautiful 
view  of  the  city.  And  as  I  paced  up  and  down  from  east 
to  west  an  allegory  came  to  me.  ...  I  saw,  as  before, 
three  kinds  of  scenery  about  me  —  the  Delta,  the 
Desert,  and  the  City.  But  as  I  once  more  gazed  upon 
them,  and  spread  them  out  before  the  Lord,  they 
seemed  to  me  to  typify  three  different  kinds  of  spiritual 
soil.  .  .  . 

"To  the  north  and  north-west  stretched  the  Delta, 
green  with  crops  and  irrigated  lands,  all  ripening  for 
the  harvest.  The  sight  before  me  was  like  a  European 


n8  D.  M.  THORNTON 

scene.  There  were  the  field  of  grass  and  clover  and  of 
corn,  trailing  away  into  the  horizon  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach.  The  trees,  bat  for  here  and  there  a  palm, 
gave  quite  a  homelike  appearance  to  it  all.  They 
spoke  of  plenty,  of  lands  well-watered  and  supplied 
with  spiritual  life.  They  reached  out  in  the  direction 
of  Europe,  America,  and  Christendom. 

"  And  then  I  turned  me  round  towards  the  east,  and 
behold  the  Delta  suddenly  changed  into  a  desert.  Far, 
far  away,  from  north  to  south,  beyond  the  sandstone 
hills  and  arid  plain,  beyond  the  mirage  with  its  false 
impression  that  there  was  water  to  be  had  (in  an  oasis 
in  the  desert),  stretched  the  lands  of  Islam.  Towards  the 
south  the  Citadel  seemed  to  buttress  off  this  desert  from 
the  valley  of  the  Nile,  but  there  lay  these  lands  beyond 
in  barrenness.  Yes,  from  Syria  to  Arabia's  burning 
southern  point  all  was  spiritual  desolation.  What 
a  contrast  to  the  fruitful  fields.  For  here  we  had 
only  the  dazzling  monotony  and  iron  freedom  of  the 
desert.  How  true  a  picture  of  the  spiritual  condition  of 
these  lands. 

"  Once  more  I  turned  my  eyes  and  rested  them  upon 
the  southern  scene.  The  sun  was  quickly  veering  round 
and  rising  fast,  and  were  it  not  for  shade  upon  my  eyes 
it  would  have  been  impossible  to  gaze  upon  the  sight. 
But,  Oh  the  beauty  of  it  all !  It  spoke  of  all  that  Africa 
might  be  one  day.  The  Nile  itself  was  hardly  visible  at 
all,  but  everywhere  one  saw  the  traces  of  its  influence. 
Beyond  it  lay  the  beginnings  of  the  Libyan  desert, 
bounded  by  the  ancient  pyramids  of  Gizah,  which, 
though  they  be  so  great,  looked  quite  insignificant  in 
the  view.  On  this  side  stretched  the  miles  of  Cairo's 
city.  First  came  the  mounds  behind  which  lies  Old  Cairo. 
Then  all  the  dwellings  of  the  European  quarter  near  the 
river  bank.  And  there  were  the  hundred  masts,  boatmen, 
traders  from  the  north  and  south,  who  moor  their  boats 
along  the  riverside  below  the  city.  They  all  derive 
their  living  from  the  Nile.  Without  its  yearly  inunda- 


THE  FIRST  SIX  MONTHS  119 

tions  these  pyramids  could  never  have  been  made.  But 
with  its  fertilising  power  the  Cairo  of  to-day  has  risen 
to  be  the  city  that  it  is.  For  this  great  city  upon  the 
eastern  shores  is  very  largely  built  with  the  very  stones 
which  formed  the  fabric  of  ancient  Memphis  on  the 
western  bank.  I  was  impressed  with  the  fact  that 
Memphis,  with  all  its  glory  and  paganism,  had  passed 
away  beneath  the  shadow  of  those  imperishable  tombs, 
and  given  place  to  Cairo,  the  creation  of  Moslem  power 
and  dynasties. 

"  It  is  this  city  of  Cairo,  the  creation  of  Islam's  sway, 
that  I  saw  before  me.  What  meant  these  hundred 
minarets  and  domes  ?  One  by  one  I  counted  them. 
At  least  one  hundred  were  in  view.  They  tell  me 
five  hundred  is  the  number  if  you  could  see  them  all. 
Gracefully  these  beautiful  works  of  art  rise  into  the 
sky.  All  uniform  in  general,  they  pierce  the  sky  in 
every  variety  of  way.  They  witness  to  a  solemn  fact 
as  well  as  the  history  of  twelve  hundred  years.  The 
fact  that  Islam  now,  not  Christianity,  is  the  faith.  The 
few  and  simple  Christian  Churches  that  remain  and 
witness  dimly,  be  they  Copt  or  Catholic,  are  as  nothing 
to  them.  And  as  for  Protestants,  they  have  but  two 
Churches — American  and  English — with  four  other  places 
where  there  is  worship  regularly.  Yes,  Cairo  is  a  Moslem 
city.  Its  eastern  half  lies  almost  entirely  untouched  by 
Christendom.  I  felt  it  as  I  gazed  upon  it  then.  And 
though  the  days  of  paganism  are  over,  and  God  is 
acknowledged  as  the  Lord  of  all,  yet  five  hundred 
thousand  souls  within  these  walls  know  not  that  Jesus 
is  the  Saviour  of  the  world. 

"  But  notwithstanding,  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord  and  Lord 
of  all.  His  dominion  is  an  everlasting  dominion,  and 
His  kingdom  endureth  throughout  all  ages.  So  surely 
as  Paganism  fell  from  its  lofty  place,  so  too  will  Islam 
pass  away  and  give  place  to  Christianity,  when  Christ 
is  revealed  and  known.  Well  will  it  be  for  Christendom 
when  she  has  been  purified  from  end  to  end  by  the  Spirit 


120  D.  M.  THORNTON 

of  the  living  God  and  filled  to  overflowing  with  devotion 
to  the  Lord  she  owns.  For  not  till  then  will  Africa's 
largest  city,  the  greatest  Moslem  city  in  the  world, 
become  the  centre  of  a  forceful  Christianity  to  thrust 
forth  constantly  increasing  numbers  of  emissaries  of 
light  to  every  land." 

Or  sometimes  his  thoughts  went  afield  to  the  very 
utmost  limits  of  the  Moslem  world.  For  example — 

"  Feb.  14.  I  was  also  brightened  by  the  arrival  of 
a  letter  from  John  Mott,  thanking  me  for  my  Mediter- 
ranean effusion.  It  was  an  inspiration  ...  to  feel  that 
work  done  then  in  my  weakness  was  not  in  vain,  for 
it  has  set  him  thinking  upon  several  points.  I  am 
so  glad  he  is  meditating  making  some  investigations 
about  Russian  students  when  in  Finland,  and  only  hope 
they  will  be  successful.  My  theory  that  Russia  must 
evangelise  Central  Asia  is  taking  hold.  Oh  for  a  great 
awakening  in  the  Russian  Orthodox  Church  ! " 

It  is  not  then  surprising  that  the  question  of  rein- 
forcements lay  then,  as  always  afterwards,  heavy  on 
his  mind.  And  so  we  find  him  now  propounding  on 
the  germ  of  an  idea  which  he  afterwards  developed, 
and  to  which  he  was  constant  till  the  very  end,  that 
of  making  Cairo  a  centre  both  for  actual  missionary 
work  and  for  the  training  of  missionaries  for  other 
Moslem  lands.  He  writes — 

"  An  appeal  ought  to  be  got  out  stating — 

"(1)  The  difficulty  that  Arabic  presents,  and   hence 

the  need  of  patient   scholars  who  will   be  content  to 

work  011  till  they  master  Arabic ; 

"(2)  The  importance  of  concentrating  on  Cairo  (as 

being  a  fairly  healthy  place),  with  a  view  to  future 

permanent  extensions  .  .  .   ; 


THE  FIRST  SIX  MONTHS  121 

"(3)  The  enormous  gain  Egypt  has  over  other 
countries,  from  the  fact  of  its  enjoyment  of  toleration, 
etc." 

"  An  appeal  ought  to  be  got  out !"  That  was  written 
to  the  writer  of  this  book,  privately,  in  1898 ;  who 
writes  the  words,  and  makes  the  appeal  publicly  in 
1908! 

But  he  never  neglected  the  least  duty  that  lay  to 
hand.  Immediately  after  this  entry  about  Central 
Asia,  he  continues — 

"  Dean  Butcher  wrote  asking  me  to  preach  next 
Sunday.  This,  too,  was  an  encouragement,  for  I  have 
had  so  few  opportunities  of  personal  work  or  preach- 
ing while  here  I  felt  it  right  to  accept.  My  subject 
is  now  ruminating.  At  present  I  feel  inclined  to  preach 
on  '  our  motives  for  preaching.'  " 

The  very  few  occasions  on  which  he  was  asked  to 
preach  in  All  Saints'  Church  were  a  source  of  the 
greatest  pleasure.  He  valued  the  privilege.  On  4th 
December  he  had  written — 

"  I  was  delighted  when   he  (the   Dean)  told  me  it 

was  sermons  that   he  needed.  It  would   be   such   an 

opportunity    to    preach    there.  I    thought    of    Henry 
Martyn  at  Calcutta." 

Lastly,  it  is  hardly  surprising  to  learn  that  he  felt 
constrained  to  write  to  his  Society  a  memorandum 
setting  forth  his  views  as  to  the  past,  present,  and 
future  of  the  work  in  Egypt !  It  is  not  a  precedent 
that  young  missionaries,  after  three  months  and  a 


122  D.  M.  THORNTON 

half  in  the  field,  should  be  invited  to  follow,  and  on 
this  occasion,  too,  heads  were  shaken.  But  Thornton 
was  an  exceptional  man,  as  we  have  already  seen ;  and 
time  has  proved  that  his  views,  and  even  his  effusions, 
were  worthy  of  being  studied.  It  was  never  safe  to 
neglect  them.  Most  juniors  had  best  reserve  their 
observations  for  a  more  mature  season.  But  when 
the  exceptional  man  arrives,  two  things  have  to  be 
observed, — the  man  himself  has  to  learn  to  make  his 
observations  in  the  right  way,  so  as  to  carry  his 
seniors  with  him;  the  seniors  have  to  learn  how  to 
learn  from  one  who  is  possibly  able,  in  spite  of  his 
want  of  local  knowledge,  to  benefit  them  enormously 
by  his  fresh  and  spontaneous  ideas.  Each  is  a  diffi- 
cult lesson. 

What  he  wrote,  however,  need  not  be  quoted  here, 
for  the  substance  has  already  been  given,  and  it  has 
been  already  seen  how  absolutely  sound  in  the  main 
his  ideas  were.  It  was,  perhaps,  a  nemesis  on  his 
headlong  unconventionality  in  writing,  on  his  own 
authority,  to  headquarters,  that  what  he  wrote  perhaps 
contains  the  one  line  of  policy  (insisted  on,  of  course, 
with  the  greatest  confidence  and  many  arguments)  on 
which  he  thoroughly  recanted  in  later  years. 

Two  suggestions,  however,  must  be  quoted,  as  they 
complete  the  list  of  activities  foreshadowed  by  Thorn- 
ton during  these  first  four  months  and  a  half. 

The  training  of  Egyptian  workers,  whether  Moslem 
converts  or  Coptic,  was  the  last  plan  he  was  actually 
to  have  carried  out  in  1908  had  his  life  been  spared 


THE  FIRST  SIX  MONTHS  123 

to  the  work  on  earth.     And  in  the  spring  of  1898  we 
find  him  writing — 

"  That  a  hostel  be  started  near  to  some  special  centre 
of  evangelistic  work,  such  as  the  boats  at  Shubra,  or  the 
meetings  at  the  Mohamed  Ali  school,but  wherever  started, 
so  arranged  as  to  encourage  all  simplicity  of  life ;  that 
this  hostel  should  be  open  to  lads  from  Jerusalem, 
trained  in  the  preparatory  schools  there,  so  that  as  long 
as  Turkish  rulers  leave  no  opening  for  young  men  in 
Palestine  to  do  aggressive  work,  they  may  have  that 
advantage  and  indispensable  training  before  their 
ordination  here.  Similarly,  that  this  hostel  be  open  to 
any  young  Copts  that  bear  good  enough  references,  who 
wish  to  be  under  Christian  influences,  but  are  at  present 
in  either  the  medical  or  the  law  schools.  Lastly,  that 
this  be  the  place  where  young  Moslem  enquirers  can  come 
and  find  fellowship,  and  Moslem  converts  a  refuge 
and  a  training  for  future  work.  I  think  from  what  I 
have  said  there  is  a  large  enough  sphere  from  which  to 
gather  men  for  such  a  place.  And  if  there,  under  per- 
sonal influence,  may  we  not  expect  as  great  results  as 
are  being  attained  by  similar  hostels  in  other  great 
tempted  cities. 

"  I  see  no  reason  why  this  hostel  should  not  be  started 
as  soon  as  I  have  passed  my  second  language  exam. 
And  I  feel  that  it  is  the  first  step  to  take.  But  as  it 
will  probably  involve  new  buildings,  or  at  anyrate  a 
very  careful  selection  of  old  ones,  it  is  none  too  early  to 
be  thinking  about  the  best  site,  the  object  of  the  Institu- 
tion, and  the  method  of  conducting  it.  And  before  we 
begin  to  do  this,  there  must  be  a  prior  decision  as  to  the 
merits  of  such  a  thing.  Meanwhile,  the  present  standard 
of  our  primary  schools  can  be  improved,  and  the  way 
be  prepared  for  some  kind  of  practical  secondary  educa- 
tion later  on. 

"  I  would  suggest  that  evening  and  morning  courses 
of  lectures  and  Bible-readings  be  given  in  this  hostel,  or 


I24  D.  M.  THORNTON 

some  more  suitable  place.  Several  of  the  missionaries 
might  be  able  to  contribute  to  the  course.  Our  clergy 
might  each  take  their  turn  at  theological,  historical,  and 
biblical  subjects.  It  would  be  good  for  them  to  have 
to  do  so.  Our  already  overworked  doctors  might  under 
other  conditions  be  able  to  contribute  occasionally  to  the 
scientific  side  of  the  work,  or  at  least  three  evenings  a 
week  might  be  set  apart  for  definite  evangelistic  work. 
In  this  way  our  present  staff  of  catechists  and  native 
teachers  would  have  an  opportunity  of  getting  further 
help  and  training,  our  catechumens  would  be  able  to 
receive  regular  instruction,  the  number  of  our  workers 
of  more  than  one  kind  would  probably  increase,  and  the 
way  be  prepared  for  a  native  ministry. 

"  I  commend  these  suggestions  to  your  thoughts  and 
prayers." 

Nor  was  evangelistic  extension,  the  work  to  which 
(in  conjunction  with  the  training  of  workers)  he  had 
finally  dedicated  himself  just  before  his  death,  neglected 
in  this  survey.  He  writes — 

"  A  hundred  villages  need  to  be  thoroughly  followed 
up.  There  are  hospital  patients  and  even  many  converts 1 
whom  we  have  practically  never  reached.  The  work  of 
reaching  them,  supervising  catechists  at  work,  and  sup- 
plying the  pastoral  needs  of  Old  Cairo,  will  in  itself 
need  two  clergy.  The  field  is  so  vast  .  .  ." 

And  thus  these  two  chapters  foreshadow  his  whole 
career  in  Egypt.  The  rest  of  this  book  is  a  mere  com- 
ment upon  how  he  initiated,  or  attempted  to  initiate,  or 
helped  to  initiate  all  these  lines  of  work.  It  may  be 
useful  to  enumerate  them  here — 

(*  Inquirers  would  have  been  more  correct.) 


THE  FIRST  SIX  MONTHS  125 

Sudan  Evangelisation — 

(His   last  journey   was    to    have    been    to  the 
Moslem  Sudanese.) 

Helping  the  Copts — 

In  Scripture  instruction 

In  encouraging  their  priests 

In  literature 

Through  their  theological  students 

In  their  missionary  life 

Evangelising  the  educated  men  of  Cairo — 
By  Bible  and  other  classes 

By  personal  interviews — controversial  or  apolo- 
getic or  otherwise 
By  evangelistic  services 

Evangelising  by  literature — 

The    whole    Arabic-reading    Moslem    world   by 

means  of  Arabic  literature 
Conference  of   all  workers   among  Moslems  for 

expediting  this  end 

Educational — 

A  Christian  High  School  for  Cairo 
Training — 

Training  workers  by  means  of  Bible  classes 
Training  them  by  advanced  classes 
A  hostel  for  promoting  these  ends 
Training  missionaries   by  residence  in  Cairo   as 
being   the  literary   and   intellectual  centre 
of  Islam 


126  D.  M.  THORNTON 

It  were  folly  !  were  it  not  that  the  nine  years  that 
followed  prove  that  Thornton  never  lost  his  grip  of  a 
single  one  of  these  ideas;  never  ceased  working  at 
them  or  planning  for  them ;  never  went  back  on  their 
advisability  and  possibility  and  necessity ;  and,  more- 
over, that  he  made  no  essential  addition  to  them,  nor 
modified  them  except  in  the  details  of  method  as  cir- 
cumstances dictated.  He  dreamed  sane  possibilities, 
and  was  ready  and  able  to  press  forward  to  realise  the 
dreams.  If  he  sometimes  went  too  fast  and  was  blind 
to  the  limitations  imposed  by  his  means  and  materials, 
that  was  probably  inevitable  in  the  nature  of  things. 
After  all,  it  is  the  function  of  the  driving-wheel  to 
drive. 


CHAPTER    VIII 

A   GLIMPSE  WITHIN 

THERE  is  something  very  deadening  about  the  first 
stages  of  a  missionary  life, — the  violent  shifting  of 
the  whole  moral  and  spiritual  centre  of  gravity,  the 
enforced  dumbness,  the  contrast  between  aspiration 
and  reality.  The  old  spiritual  emotions,  which  seemed 
so  real  and  so  valuable,  are  apt  to  fade  with  the 
passing  away  of  the  environment  in  which  they  lived. 
Contrary  to  the  common  view,  it  may  be  the  home- 
land that  is  the  home  also  of  romance ;  in  the  hard 
glare  of  the  Orient,  romance  may  quite  easily  wither 
away.  Only  the  spirituality  the  roots  of  which  are 
far  beneath  the  surface,  stretching  deep  down  to  a 
spring  of  the  Living  Waters,  has  a  chance  of  main- 
taining its  freshness  and  strength. 

For  this  reason  it  may  be  of  value  to  have  a 
glimpse  of  the  spiritual  and  emotional  life  of  one 
with  whom  spirituality  was  a  real  thing.  Even  such 
a  one  could  talk,  in  a  letter  of  the  summer  of  that 
first  year,  of  "the  total  darkness  of  those  first  eight 
months." 

Gordon,  after  writing  some  great  memoranda  stating 

127 


128  D.  M.  THORNTON 

his  views  on  world-politics,  wrote  to  his  sister,  "  I  feel 
deathlike."  And  there  is  undoubtedly  something  deadly 
in  much  planning  and  organising,  and  Thornton  was 
aware  of  this.  He  writes — 

"  It  is  evident  that  X.  and  I  have  absolutely  different 
ideas  about  missionary  work,  and  as  he  is  such  a 
holy  man,  I  intend  to  sit  at  his  feet  and  learn  from  him, 
— his  patience,  his  simple  faith,  his  evangelistic  zeal.  It 
may  be  that  I  overestimate  the  value  of  organising.  .  .  ." 

To  the  last  Thornton  checked  his  organising  zeal  by 
means  of  this  wholesome  recognition  of  individualism 
and  directness. 

"  Mar.  7.  A  month  since  my  allegory  on  the  Moslem 
world"  (see  p.  117).  "It  is  a  comfort  to  know  that  so 
many  are  praying  for  us.  I  have  been  getting  very 
prayerless  of  late,  and  so,  after  a  day  of  Arabic,  a  short 
walk  by  the  side  of  the  canal  in  the  setting  sun  was 
very  peaceful  and  refreshing.  The  weather  was  delight- 
ful, just  the  right  temperature.  I  read  through  the 
Psalms  for  the  evening  of  the  8th  day  by  mistake,  as  I 
paced  along,  and  the  refrain,  '  Put  thy  trust  in  God,' 
seemed  to  wake  my  dull  soul  to  fresh  confidence  in  God. 
Oh,  to  live  out  Psalms  xli.-xliii. ! 

"  Apr.  2.  Easter  Day.  .  .  Got  to  work  at  my  sermon 
for  Sunday  morning  next.  .  .  I  had  a  lovely  time  in  the 
evening  before  going  to  bed,  with  the  stars,  upon  the 
roof,  as  I  asked  God  to  give  me  His  message  for  the 
congregation  of  All  Saints." 

"  The  roof "  was  a  great  resort  of  his  in  those  days. 
Every  visitor  to  the  house  had  to  visit  it,  and  have 
the  allegory  of  7th  March  "demonstrated"  to  him. 
Up  there  he  could  transcend  the  details  of  the  present 


A  GLIMPSE  WITHIN  129 

and  pass  into  the  ideal  world,  to  get  a  new  vision  for 
our  shadowy  world  of  "realities." 

Later  on  he  would  sometimes  go  off  to  the  gardens 
of  the  Gezira  Palace  and  meditate,  gazing  over  the 
calm  beauty  of  the  Nile  there,  with  the  sunlit  houses 
of  Bulac  across  the  stream,  and  the  white  outspread 
pinions  of  the  Nile  boats. 

The  Eastertide  sermon  was  preached  next  Sunday — 

"April  9.  The  second  lesson — 1  Cor.  xv.  1-22 — was 
almost  too  much  for  me.  I  quite  got  carried  away  by 
it  as  I  read  it.  Then  came  the  sermon.  .  .  .  The 
Dean  seemed  pleased  that  I  had  quoted  Lecky.  The 
Lord  knows  that  I  tried  to  uplift  Christ  Crucified  and 
Risen." 

In  the  evening  he  took  a  favourite  subject  connected 
with  the  Church's  missionary  duty — 

"The  congregation  seemed  to  follow  me,  though  I 
fear  I  was  speaking  rather  above  their  heads.  This 
was  corroborated  after  by  an  overheard  remark  about 
a  lady  who  wanted  to  know  '  why  he  can't  let  these 
Mahommedans  alone  ?  they  are  not  idolaters ! '  I 
came  straight  home  ...  I  could  not,  however,  sleep 
between  1.30  a.m.  and  5.30  a.m.,  because  of  dogs 
howling." 

Both  the  morning  and  evening  sermons  had  been 
a  great  strain.  Altogether  it  is  not  surprising  that 
he  "could  not  sleep  between  1.30  a.m.  and  5.30  a.m., 
because  of  dogs  howling."  Three  of  these  hours  were 
spent  in  writing  to  the  Record  I  That  was  very 

characteristic. 
9 


130  D.  M.  THORNTON 

In  May  he  had  to  go  to  Jerusalem  to  be  ordained 
presbyter.  On  the  19th  he  was  off  Jaffa  in  the 
early  morning. 

"  It  was  Jaffa.     I  hastened  on  deck  to  see  my  first 

glimpse   of  the   Holy   Land.  It   was   with   as  great 

emotion  as  I  ever  experience  nowadays  l  that  I  gazed 
on  the  site  of  ancient  Joppa." 

The  above  very  clearly  shows  how  shattering  to 
subjectivity,  even  in  one  originally  so  emotionally 
built  as  Thornton,  half  a  year  in  the  East  can  be.  It 
is  characteristic  of  the  change  that  was  coming  over 
him  in  this  respect  that  almost  at  this  point  the 
journal  ceases.  It  was  never  resumed.  In  the  stern 
self-scrutiny  to  which  he  henceforth  increasingly  sub- 
jected his  personal  and  emotional  life,  he  felt  that  diaries 
encouraged  self-centredness  and  a  subtle  untruthful- 
ness.  It  needs  persons  of  the  strong  objective  type, 
like  a  Cellini,  a  Pepys,  a  Scott  (in  how  curiously 
different  ways !)  to  write  a  true  diary.  But  his 
letters,  which  from  his  second  year  onward  are  very 
numerous,  more  than  take  the  place  of  the  journal. 
In  them  his  mind's  eye  was  ever  on  the  object,  and 
the  self-revelation  is,  like  that  of  his  last  unconscious 
night,  all  the  more  convincing  because  undisturbed  by 
any  influences  of  subjectivity. 

His  experiences  in  Palestine  made  him  fall  deeply 
in  love  with  the  country:  on  him  the  sacred  scenes 
could  make  their  utmost  impression.  On  the  morning 

1  Italics  not  in  the  original. 


A  GLIMPSE  WITHIN  131 

of  his  ordination  (28th  May  1899)  he  spent  an  hour 
alone  on  what  he  liked  to  regard  as  the  site  of  Calvary 
(the  "Gordon"  site)— 

'There,  under  the  shadow  of  the  rock,  out  of  which 
a  rich  man  has  evidently  hewn  his  tomb  a  long  while 
ago,  I  re-read  Romans  vi.,  which  has  meant  so  much  to 
my  life  at  different  times,  and  tried  to  realise  afresh  all 
that  it  meant  to  me  on  the  verge  of  ordination. 

"  And  now  I  wended  my  way  back  out  of  the  quiet 
of  the  spot,  up  the  turf -cut  steps,  and  through  the  ill- 
kept  garden,  out  of  the  gate,  and  up  the  steep  slope  of 
Calvary's  western  side. 

"  The  sun  was  burning  strongly,  and  in  spite  of  my 
umbrella,  my  black  boots  almost  seemed  to  crack  with 
heat.  But  there  was  time  to  re-read  Isaiah  liii.,  and 
once  again,  with  a  fuller  light,  imagine  all  the  scene. 
There,  by  the  cairn,  I  stood  and  faced  Jerusalem  to  the 
south.  To  my  right,  in  the  hollow,  lay  the  empty  tomb 
'with  the  rich  in  His  death.'  Straight  in  front  you 
see  the  whole  of  the  north  wall  of  the  city,  with  Herod's 
gate  on  your  left,  and  the  Damascus  gate  just  below 
you,  leading  to  the  Via  Dolorosa.  Between  the  two 
stands  a  hill  within  the  wall,  on  which  our  C.M.S. 
Girls'  School  now  stands.  But  otherwise  the  whole 
city  seems  to  sink  away  from  you.  The  mosque  of 
Omar,  close  to  the  site  of  Mount  Moriah,  you  can 
hardly  see.  The  tower  of  David  on  Zion  on  the 
other  side  is  scarcely  any  higher.  The  Church  of 
the  Holy  Sepulchre  (the  old  traditional  site)  is  lower 
too.  Behind  all  these  you  can  just  see  the  hills  of  Moab 
in  the  horizon,  between  Mount  Olivet  and  the  Judean 
watershed. 

"  All  this  was  just  what  Jesus  saw  when  on  the  Cross. 
There,  on  the  crown  of  that  hill,  a  point  that  can  be 
seen  from  everywhere,  Jesus  must  have  died.  And 
here  was  I,  just  at  the  very  hour  that  He  was  nailed  to 
the  Cross,  1870  years  afterwards,  seeking  from  Him 


132  D.  M.  THORNTON 

alone  my  commission  to  preach  of  Him,  and  to  com- 
memorate His  death. 

"  I  turned  to  go,  and  just  as  I  was  going  I  noticed 
an  open  grave  to  the  east  of  me.  and  several  Moslem 
fellahin  sitting  close  by  against  the  wall  that  hides  the 
drop  of  fifty-six  feet  below,  and  Jeremiah's  grotto. 
And  then  to  the  west — the  way  that  I  had  come — 
I  heard  a  dirge,  and  looked  to  see  from  whom  it  came. 
It  was  a  Moslem  procession  making  its  way  out  of  the 
city  by  the  Damascus  gate.  The  company  were  headed 
by  young  men  carrying  palm  leaves,  not  as  here  in 
Egypt,  but  evidently  a  remnant  of  Christian  times. 
So  here  was  a  Moslem  funeral  actually  going  on,  just 
at  the  place  where  Jesus  died  for  all.  It  made  one 
realise  the  force  of  the  change  that  has  come  over  the 
country  since  those  days. 

"  This  was  enough  for  me.  It  was  for  the  Moslems 
that  I  am  to  give  my  life !  With  these  thoughts  in 
mind  I  walked  away  from  the  top  of  Calvary  to 
St.  George's  Collegiate  Church  where  I  was  to  be 
ordained." 


In  the  evening  he  preached  on  Matt.  xxiv.  14,  and 
walked  home  with  some  of  the  Praeparandi  lads  with 
whom  he  had  made  great  friends. 

"  And  so  we  walked  home  together  by  starlight,  for 
the  sky  was  full  of  stars,  and  spoke  of  all  God's  glories. 
I  wish  I  knew  the  names  of  some  of  them.  I  felt 
that  after  this  I  could  have  roamed  the  hills  of  Galilee 
with  those  lads,  and  sought  to  teach  them  what  He 
taught  the  Twelve  so  many  centuries  ago.  Here,  in  a 
Moslem  land,  these  lads  have  little  chance  of  doing 
active  Christian  work  alone  in  after  years.  We  have 
yet  to  see  how  on  the  morrow  God  gave  them  all  an 
opportunity  of  talking  to  a  Moslem  sheikh  about  their 
faith  and  Lord." 


A  GLIMPSE  WITHIN  133 

The  incident  alluded  to  in  the  last  line  was  a 
conversation  with  a  young  Moslem  Syrian  sheikh, 
a  student  of  Al  Azhar,  in  Cairo,  on  the  Mount  of 
Olives — 

"  Now  we  descended,  not  in  time  to  go  to  Bethany, 
but  for  a  little  of  prayer  before  we  returned.  And 
we  had  just  sat  down  on  the  brow  of  Olivet  when  a 
young  sheikh  from  the  Al  Azhar  (Cairo),  whose  father 
lives  on  Olivet,  came  and  sat  down  with  us,  seeking 
for  a  talk.  For  some  time  he  has  been  enquiring,  and 
used  to  come  to  our  Bible  depot  in  Cairo  when  he  was 
there.  But  his  doubts  are  very  real  and  deep.  This 
knotty  question  of  inspiration  troubles  him.  He  has 
read  the  answer  to  the  Mizan-al-Haqq,  which  takes 
up  the  opinions  of  the  more  advanced  European  critics 
about  the  date  and  authorship  of  New  Testament 
books.  One  of  our  Jerusalem  missionaries  had  told 
me  only  that  morning  that  this  man  had  stumped  him 
on  some  of  these  points.  So  I  was  on  my  guard.  It 
was  a  grand  beginning  for  these  lads.  Nasra,  the 
leader  of  them  all,  interpreted  for  me. 

"We  limited  our  discussion  to  Luke  and  John,  and 
then,  as  the  sheikh  seemed  to  know  more  of  Luke, 
our  conversation  hinged  on  this — 

"(1)  Could  Luke  have  been  with  Paul  or  not  when 
he  wrote  his  gospel  ?  (If  so,  our  friend  would  admit 
that  the  gospel  was  inspired.) 

"(2)  And,  if  inspired,  what  does  the  narrative 
contain  ? 

"  I  put  it  to  you  friends,  what  line  would  you  have  taken 
with  this  man  ?  Oh,  the  patience  of  Nasra  as  he  heard 
the  man,  and  then  epitomised  my  answer  in  each  case ! 
And  what  a  contrast  to  the  others  who  kept  playing 
with  the  man.  'We  have  never  learned  the  answer 
to  these  things,'  he  said,  'we  must  know  them.'  But 
six  o'clock  had  struck,  we  had  to  be  off.  I  said  good- 


134  D.  M.  THORNTON 

bye  to  all,  and  rode  quickly  back  along  the  summit  of 
the  mount,  for  I  had  a  meeting  to  address  that  night." 

At  one  such  meeting  his  subject  was  twofold — a 
talk  on  " He  brought  him  to  Jesus"  and  a  demonstra- 
tion of  a  map  of  the  Nile  Valley.  The  intensive 
and  extensive  together,  were  characteristic  of  the  man. 

And  so  he  bid  a  reluctant  farewell  to  his  beloved 
Palestine,  and  returned  to  Cairo. 

During  the  summer  and  autumn  he  worked  hard 
at  the  language,  taking  no  holiday  in  consideration 
of  this  Palestine  episode  and  his  approaching  marriage. 
On  7th  November  the  marriage  ceremony  took 
place,  and  he  took  his  bride  to  Upper  Egypt. 
Thornton  revelled  in  Egyptology,1  but  denied  him- 
self the  luxury  of  studying  it.  He  felt  he  had  no 
time  to  give  to  it,  as,  indeed,  he  had  not.  This  visit 
to  Upper  Egypt,  which  he  used  to  the  full,  had  to 
suffice  him.  When  he  went  again  it  was  not  to 
study  antiquities,  but  to  hold  up  the  Living  Christ 
among  the  Egyptians  of  to-day,  just  before  he  passed 
to  the  land  beyond  the  west. 

JTo  hear  him  "demonstrating"  the  Great  Pyramid  was  an  experience  ! 
He  inclined  to  the  Piazzi  Smith  heresy.  You  cannot  "demonstrate" 
much,  as  you  crawl  (doubled  up)  down  the  first  shaft.  But  it  is  on 
record  that  Thornton  once  redeemed  the  time  there  in  evangelising  the 
dragoman  who  crawled  behind  him  ! 


CHAPTER    IX 

APPRENTICESHIP 

THE  newly  married  couple  set  up  house  in  19  Sharia 
Gamia  Sherkess,1  in  the  Bab-el-Luk  quarter  of  Cairo. 
A  few  days  after  they  had  "got  in"  to  their  new 
home  the  present  writer  had  the  privilege  of  joining 
them,  newly  arrived  from  Britain,  and  of  being 
admitted  into  the  intimacies  of  their  domestic  life. 
Thus  was  woven  a  threefold  cord  which  was  never 
broken,  and  was  found  unbroken  on  that  last  night 
when,  in  the  strange  providence  of  God,  the  three 
who  met  together  in  those  first  days,  met  again  as  at 
the  first,  and  wife  and  friend  held  his  hands  as  he 
descended  the  shelving  bank  of  the  dark  River.  .  .  . 

With  much  trouble  he  had  already  evolved  a  system 
of  language  study,  and  had  advanced  some  way  in  it 
himself.  With  a  true  instinct  he  had  decided  that 
unlimited  pains  must  be  given  to  pronunciation  and 
reading.  His  natural  gifts  of  ear  and  voice  were 
reinforced  by  some  study  of  Swete's  Phonetics,  of 
which  he  writes :  "  I  heartily  corroborate  Pilkington's 
advice  about  Swete's  Phonetics,  but  chiefly  in  order  to 

1  The  Street  of  the  Mosque  of  Sherkess. 
135 


136  D.  M.  THORNTON 

show  one  how  many  differences  there  are  in  vowel 
sounds  (he  says  thirty-six)."  And  so  he  was  in  a 
position  to  do  that  most  difficult  task,  train  his 
teacher  to  teach  him  aright, 

"  I  found  that  no  one  seemed  to  know  whether  their 
reading-teachers  were  teaching  them  accurately  or  not, 
and  it  was  for  six  months  a  puzzle  to  me  to  find  out 
what  I  ought  to  do.  But  at  last,  in  June  1899, 1  secured 
an  Arabian  sheikh  from  the  Koraish  tribe,  who  had 
naturalised  as  an  Egyptian.  ...  As  soon  as  I  secured 
him  I  made  progress,  and  in  seven  weeks  read  the 
Morning  Prayer,  and  in  nine  weeks  the  Communion 
Service,  for  the  first  time." 

He  found  that  prolonged  practising  of  reading 
between  lesson-times  was  quite  as  indispensable  as 
doing  exercises  in  translation,  etc.  And  another  thing 
that  he  found  invaluable  was  the  practice  of  intoning 
when  reading  Arabic,  with  its  strongly  contrasted 
long  and  short  syllables. 

"  I  had  no  idea  how  much  physical  exercise  would  be 
involved  in  a  two-hours'  reading-lesson,  if  one  deter- 
mined to  exactly  reproduce  the  tone  and  expression  and 
sound.  ...  I  find  that  intoning  is  the  secret  to  sounds. 
Crescendo  a  hard  sound  on  a  note,  and  you  find  whether 
it  is  true  or  not." 

Those  were  great  days.  Thornton  would  be  in  one 
room  intoning  loudly,  the  lodger  in  another  intoning 
equally  loudly,  and  his  Bride,  in  a  room  between  the 
two  fires,  would  be  trying  to  extract  grammatical 
information  from  a  meek-voiced  Egyptian  effendi. 

In  composition  and  translation  he  was  absolutely 
indefatigable  with  the  dictionary,  looking  up  thousands 


APPRENTICESHIP  1 3  7 

of  words,  and  scoring,  marking,  amending,  adding, 
from  what  he  gathered  from  his  teachers  and  other 
dictionaries,  so  that  it  became  riddled  from  end  to  end 
with  corrections  and  memoranda.  Perhaps  he  was  too 
elaborate  here,  and  would  have  done  better  to  spend 
more  time  in  practising  the  use  of  the  new  words 
acquired.  But  he  professed  a  weak  memory  for 
words,  and  said  it  was  necessary  to  reinforce  the 
aural  with  a  distinct  ocular  impression. 

In  grammar  he  took  unlimited  pains,  going  through 
the  subject  in  Arabic  with  a  competent  teacher,  and 
with  Arabic  as  the  medium  of  teaching  and  discuss- 
ing. This  method  is  sound,  but  there  should  be  added 
the  caution  (by  neglecting  which  he  perhaps  wasted 
time)  to  aim  at  a  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the 
main  thoroughfares  of  the  subject  -  matter,  and  to 
leave  the  subtleties  and  niceties  to  the  schoolmen  of 
the  language. 

He  also  was  a  pioneer  in  the  view  that  the  col- 
loquial language  needs  study  just  as  much  as  the 
classical,  and  that  this  study  is  doubly  necessary  for 
those  whose  language  has  been  acquired  on  classical 
lines,  and  who  are  therefore  in  danger  of  talking  too 
classically  for  the  remainder  of  their  lives. 

Here  is  his  own  summing  up  of  this  long  prelim- 
inary stage  to  every  missionary's  career — 

"Nov.  27,  1901. 

"  Upon  looking  back  over  my  three  years  here,  I  feel 
that  it  has  been  a  constant  strain  to  mind  and  memory, 
and  I  shall  feel  glad  of  a  short  holiday  in  England  next 


138  D.  M.  THORNTON 

summer,  as  now  allowed  by  the  Society  to  Missionaries 
in  Egypt  and  Palestine,  any  time  after  three  years' 
service.  I  have  been  practically  at  college  over  again 
all  the  time.  Every  week-day  I  have  had  from  two  to 
two  and  a  half  hours  of  lessons  with  teachers,  and  all 
this  winter  I  shall  need  to  go  on  having  nearly  as  many, 
in  spite  of  examinations  being  over.  So  that  one  has 
had  quite  as  hard  work  as  for  any  Tripos  to  do  in  the 
three  years.  It  is  astonishing  how  varied  the  study  of  a 
language  is.  There  is  the  Bible  to  learn  to  use  in  the 
new  tongue.  There  is  the  Koran  to  translate  and  recite 
and  memorise  in  parts.  There  is  the  endless  Arabic 
grammar  with  its  thousands  of  rules  to  learn  to  apply. 
There  are  theological,  historical,  classical,  and  scientific 
books  to  read  so  as  to  get  a  wide  vocabulary.  There 
is  the  task  of  translating  into  colloquialisms  all  our 
English  idioms.  Then  when  you  have  spare  moments 
you  must  learn  to  read  the  Arabic  newspapers,  to  write 
letters  in  Arabic,  to  visit  mission  workers  and  teachers 
in  their  homes,  and  so  learn  their  home  conversation  and 
salutations.  And  after  all  this  you  have  to  do  the  work 
you  are  expected  by  home  friends  to  be  doing,  namely, 
preaching  the  gospel." 

So  passed  the  time  away  in  very  hard  work,  during 
which  he  undertook  little  that  need  be  chronicled. 
Early  evangelistic  efforts  in  a  foreign  language  are 
painful  things;  one  is  apt  to  feel  that  it  is  simply 
practising  on  the  unfortunates  whom  one  is  address- 
ing: and,  to  some  extent,  this  is  literally  the  case. 
Thornton  took  care  to  practise  on  all  sorts  and  classes 
of  people,  so  as  to  increase  the  range  of  his  own 
vocabulary.  At  first  it  was  a  class  of  fellow-workers, 
when  he  just  had  enough  Arabic  to  guide  a  discussion 
and  contribute  a  simple  thought;  then  came  written 


APPRENTICESHIP  139 

sermons  in  church,  laboriously  composed,  and  read 
from  the  manuscript,  fluency  being  ensured  by  reading 
it  through  aloud  several  times  beforehand.  Then 
came  the  work  of  instructing  inquirers,  a  most  profit- 
able work,  for  it  is  so  intimate  that  mistakes  do  not 
matter,  and  by  question  and  answer  the  vocabulary 
can  be  easily  extended.  He  also  took  care  very  early 
to  learn  the  language  of  prayer,  and  so  very  soon 
took  frequent  part  in  meetings  for  intercession.  He 
had  the  great  prerequisite,  courage;  he  did  not  care 
if  he  broke  down,  or  even  if  he  was  unintelligible. 

o 

Long  before  he  could  address  a  meeting,  he  took  the 
chair  at  the  preachings  to  Moslems  in  Cairo,  and 
always  did  something,  reading  the  passage  from  the 
Bible,  or  sometimes  from  the  Koran,  or  making  some 
remarks  which  gradually  increased  in  intelligibility. 
Fiat  experimentum.  .  .  .  But  what  else  can  the  novice 
do  ?  It  is  the  only  way.  Yet  one  is  sorry  for  the 
corpus. 

Whatever  he  did  was  done  thoroughly  and  boldly, 
and  with  real  evangelistic  zeal  at  the  back  of  it. 
This  specially  characterised  his  conduct  of  a  very 
picturesque  little  meeting  at  the  quay  for  the  Nile 
boats  from  Upper  Egypt.  There  he  would  suspend 
a  sheet  in  the  rigging,  and  have  a  lantern  service. 
Very  early  did  he  speak  some  simple  words  to  the 
boatmen  as  they  squatted  on  the  deck,  or  peered 
from  the  wherries  lying  alongside — dusky  forms  seen 
in  the  dim  starlight,  or  in  the  light  cast  by  a  smoky 
lamp,  with  eyes  and  teeth  gleaming  white  in  the 


140  D.  M.  THORNTON 

murkiness  around.  Palms  rose  like  ebony  against 
the  Milky  Way ;  while  the  Nile  slipped  quietly  by  the 
line  of  wherries  at  their  moorings,  side  by  side  along 
the  river's  eastern  bank. 

On  Easter  Eve  1901  he  had  the  joy  of  baptizing 
two  converts, — one  an  Egyptian,  and  the  other  a 
Syrian  who  had  been  trained  by  him  for  baptism. 
Here  is  his  own  description  of  the  ceremony — 

"  As  we  have  not  yet  attained  to  having  a  consecrated 
building  for  our  church  services,  we  had  temporarily  to 
construct  a  small  baptistry  for  the  occasion,  which  was 
placed  in  the  room  used  as  a  church  in  the  old  Cairo 
Dispensary.  It  was  nicely  draped  with  red,  and  decorated 
in  front  with  palm  leaves,  as  was  also  the  whole  building, 
in  readiness  for  Easter  Day.  Punctually  at  5  p.m.  the 
service  began,  the  catechumens,  between  their  respective 
godfathers,  being  seated  on  the  right  of  the  room,  in  front 
of  where  the  men  usually  sit,  and  the  officiating  clergy 
opposite  to  them  on  the  left,  between  the  harmonium 
and  the  women's  seats.  After  opening  with  '  Prevent  us, 

0  Lord,'  and  the  '  Prayer  for  Purity,'  we  had  the  opening 
exhortation,  prayers,  gospel,  and  address,  all  joining  in 
the  thanksgiving.     I  followed  with  the  exhortation  to 
the  candidates  and  the  vows  of  renunciation,  belief,  and 
obedience,  asking  each  severally  the  appointed  questions ; 
and  as  I  asked  them  if  they  believed  in  each  clause 
of  the  Christian  Creed,  and  they  answered,   'All   this 

1  steadfastly  believe,'  it  sent  a  thrill  through  one  to  feel 
that  Christ  had  really  conquered  each  heart,  and  that  He 
who  was  once  only  a  prophet  to  them  had  become  their 
Lord.     It  brought  back  to  my  mind  many  a  lesson  we 
have  had  together  in  the  Creed,  and  many  a  Bible  study 
over  these  precious  truths.     Thus  by  the  time  we  were 
praying  the  four  petitions  all  our  hearts  were  stirred, 
and  the  '  Amen '  at  the  end  of  each  came  like  a  shout  of 


APPRENTICESHIP  1 4 1 

triumph  from  every  lip.  It  was  doubly  significant  having 
chosen  Easter  Eve  for  the  event,  as  the  teaching  of  these 
petitions  and  the  Consecration  Prayer  afterwards  seemed 
to  find  a  special  echo  in  our  hearts  to-day.  I  do  not 
wonder  now  that  among  the  ancients  Easter  Eve  was 
the  favourite  day  for  baptism. 

"  Now  came  the  reception  into  the  Church  of  Christ, 
that  rite  so  peculiarly  English,  and  yet  so  beautifully 
significant.  The  leading  by  the  hand,  the  naming  of 
each  person  individually  before  admission  into  covenant 
with  God,  trine  immersion  in  the  name  of  each  Person 
in  the  Trinity,  the  sign  of  the  Cross  with  all  that  it 
signifies,  and  the  declaration  of  incorporation  into  the 
body  of  Christ's  Church.  Then,  while  the  newly  baptized 
had  retired  to  robe  afresh,  we  sang  two  Arabic  hymns, 
interspersed  with  silent  prayer  for  them  and  other 
seekers  of  Christ.  Then  came  the  Collect  for  Easter 
Eve,  and  a  short  address.  Finally,  a  word  of  welcome 
and  encouragement  to  our  two  brethren  in  Christ.  Then 
Mr.  Adeney  closed  with  the  post-Baptismal  Service  and 
the  Blessing,  and  the  two  shook  hands  with  everyone  at 
the  door  as  they  went  out.  All  our  workers,  thank  God, 
are  encouraged,  and  we  hope  also  some  of  the  enquirers 
who  were  present." 

The  last  work  which  need  be  mentioned,  before  a 
short  furlough  in  1902,  is  the  work  he  put  into  the 
bringing  out  of  a  new  edition  of  the  Arabic  Prayer- 
Book.  It  was  a  most  useful  but  absolutely  unshowy 
piece  of  work,  and  it  throws  light  on  the  character  of 
a  man  who  had  the  reputation  for  loving  only  great 
schemes,  but  who  could,  as  he  did  then,  sit  down  and 
for  months  pour  his  soul  out  over  the  little  details  of 
seeing  an  Arabic  book  of  some  500  pages  through  the 
press.  The  purely  mechanical  practice  was  invaluable 


142  D.  M.  THORNTON 

to  him;  he  became  a  very  rapid  and  accurate  reader 
of  Arabic  proof-sheets  and  books,  and  he  obtained  a 
knowledge  of  the  organisation  of  Egyptian  printing- 
presses  that  was  most  useful  in  the  future.  But  his 
work  was  not  exclusively  mechanical.  Many  letters  at 
this  time  show  that  he  subjected  every  line  and  word 
to  a  rigid  examination,  sometimes  involving  most  inter- 
esting and  well-instructed  discussions  of  Prayer- Book 
phraseology  and  doctrine ;  and  several  important  emen- 
dations were  due  solely  to  him,  though  the  book  was 
supposed  to  have  been  completely  revised  when  he 
took  over  the  work.  He  says — 

"I  have  found  my  good  supply  of  authorities  on 
the  Prayer  -  Book,  e.g.  Blunt,  Procter,  Daniel,  Barry, 
Dowden,  etc.,  very  useful.  .  .  .  The  experience  in  deal- 
ing with  printers,  type,  style,  and  grammatical  and 
doctrinal  analysis  will  be  invaluable  to  me  later  on." 

It  was  entirely  characteristic  of  the  man  that  during 
the  time  when  the  Prayer-Book  was  passing  through  the 
press,  and  he  was  making  frequent  visits  to  the  printers 
(too  frequent  they  most  probably  thought !),  he  used 
the  opportunity  to  interest  the  compositors  and  other 
Moslem  workmen  in  the  contents  of  the  book  and  in 
the  message  of  Christ,  so  that  the  Gospel  became  in 
a  manner  known,  or  known  of,  to  all  the  hands  in  the 
press.  It  was  ever  so.  Did  such  conduct  do  harm  in 
the  "  fanatical "  Moslem  East  ?  On  the  contrary  !  Such 
conduct  is  the  one  thing  that  makes  the  Moslem 
respect  his  Christian  fellow-creature. 

On  the  whole,  in  looking  over  the  period  from  his 


APPRENTICESHIP  143 

ordination  at  Jerusalem  in  1899  (which  closed  the  series 
of  schemes  and  ideas  that  characterised  the  first  six 
months)  down  to  his  furlough  in  1902,  one  is  struck  by 
the  way  in  which  this  fiery  soul  acquiesced  in  the  com- 
parative inaction,  the  total  obscurity  of  apprenticeship. 
Always  he  had  a  sense  that  the  work  which  he  meant 
to  do  needed  this  long,  and  even  a  longer,  preparation. 
The  ideas  and  schemes  of  the  first  months  are  hardly 
mentioned.  Had  they  been  forgotten  ?  The  following 
chapters  will  answer  the  question.  But  there  is  some- 
thing touching  in  the  way  they  had  been  allowed  to 
sink  from  notice  and  from  mention,  under  the  pressure 
of  the  arduous,  irksome,  initial  task  that  had  to  be 
done.  Once  he  writes  (27th  Nov.  1901) :  "  It  seems  as 
if  God  were  leading  us  out  into  a  somewhat  different 
path  than  the  present.  .  .  ." 

But  he  does  not  go  on  to  say  a  single  word  as  to  what 
it  should  be.  Is  this  the  Thornton  of  former — or  of 
latter — years  ?  He  quietly  adds :  "  We  need  special 
guidance  from  above  just  now."  In  the  following  June 
(1902)  he  writes— 

"  We  are  quite  in  the  dark  as  yet  as  to  what  our 
future  work  is  likely  to  be.  I  am  perfectly  certain  that 
the  first  step  ought  to  be  to  start  a  Y.M.C.A.  for  natives 
(Arabic  speaking).  But  it  is  quite  impossible  for  those 
of  us  who  have  to  give  many  more  years  to  the  study 
of  Arabic  to  do  much  in  the  way  of  organising  such 
a  work.  ...  I  think  G.  and  I  must  keep  ourselves  free 
for  personal  work  and  for  study,  so  as  to  be  able  to  do 
literary  work  later  on." 

He  closes  a  long  letter  on  this  subject  by  earnestly 


144  D.  M.  THORNTON 

appealing  for  the  starting  of  a  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  in  Cairo  for  the  hundreds  of  Syrian,  Coptic 
and  Protestant  Christians.  But  he  sees  that  this  work 
is  not  for  him.  And  the  apprentice  years  are  summed 
up  by  himself  in  the  following  words,  in  a  letter  to 
his  friend  Mr.  J.  R.  Mott: — 

"Jan.  26,  1902. 

".  .  .  It  is  an  immense  task  this  fight  with  uni- 
tarianism.  Perhaps  the  fight  is  not  over  so  wide  a 
range  as  it  is  in  dealing  with  ethnic  religions,  but  it  is 
more  intense.  And  the  mental  equipment  needed  if  it 
is  to  be  coupled  with  deep  spirituality,  is  a  very  great 
tax  on  the  physical  life.  However,  we  only  have  one 
language  to  fight  in  here,  and  not  the  multitude  that 
there  are  in  India,  so  that,  I  suppose,  we  ought  not  to 
think  our  work  is  difficult.  I  have  found  the  last  three 
years  have  been  a  great  blessing  to  my  soul.  It  is  a 
great  privilege  to  have  to  study  the  Bible  so  as  to  put 
its  meaning  into  another  tongue,  because  it  makes  it  all 
mean  so  much  more  in  the  original.  And  that  tongue 
being  so  akin  to  Hebrew,  and  the  customs  being  so  very 
similar  now  to  what  they  were  then,  have  contributed 
to  make  Bible  study  grow  more  and  more  intense  and 
useful  every  year.  I  have  specialised  upon  fundamental 
doctrines,  and  have  sought  to  gather  studies  upon  all 
the  fundamentals  of  the  Creed,  and  my  book  studies 
have  been  Hebrews,  Galatians,  Exodus  from  the  Pass- 
over to  the  end  of  Leviticus.  In  our  evangelistic 
meetings  we  have  been  all  through  the  Life  of  our  Lord 
twice,  and  almost  all  His  Parables  and  Miracles  in  the 
New  Testament;  and  in  the  Old  Testament  the  Patri- 
archs and  Prophets  afford  the  subjects  that  always 
interest  these  Easterns  most.  Sunday-school  studies  in 
Samuel,  David  and  Daniel  and  the  Acts,  besides  using 
the  latter  book  with  Moslem  enquirers,  perhaps  may 


APPRENTICESHIP  1 4  5 

indicate  to  you  the  variety  of  study  and  use  of  the 
Bible  that  one  has  had  in  Arabic  already." 

The  same  year  he  went  on  furlough  for  six  months, 
stirring  up  a  great  deal  of  interest  by  his  addresses, 
which  were  probably  best  remembered  by  his  uncon- 
ventional habit  of  "  demonstrating "  the  intoning  of  the 
Koran  in  a  sonorous  voice  at  the  various  missionary 
meetings  he  attended !  He  came  back  in  November, 
still  quite  undecided  at  what  point  to  throw  in  his 
energies.  When  waiting  was  necessary,  Thornton  could 
wait  in  a  remarkable  way.  The  only  thing  he  was 
clear  upon  was  that  two  flats  should  be  found  in  the 
same  building  for  the  two  families  (the  present  writer 
was  by  this  time  married),  with  premises  beneath  for 
meeting-room  and  interviews,  etc.  Scores  of  hours  did 
he  spend  scouring  the  city  for  suitable  premises,  and 
a  score  more  in  interviews  with  the  landlord  of  one 
house  which  seemed  suitable.  But  it  was  vain.  The 
negotiations  fell  through,  and  no  other  suitable  premises 
could  be  found.  What  was  there  to  show  for  all  those 
hours  ?  These  are  among  the  mysteries  of  a  missionary's 
life.  The  project  of  living  together  was,  therefore,  not 
realised  till  the  following  autumn. 

At  Christmas  the  death  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Mission,  the  Rev.  F.  F.  Adeney,  determined  the  line  of 
work  in  which  he  was  led  first  to  engage.  And  with 
this  he  passes  out  of  his  apprenticeship. 


10 


CHAPTER    X 

EXPERIMENTAL 

NOTHING  is  more  needed,  in  Moslem  work,  than  a  fertile 
brain,  a  mind  always  ready  to  adapt  plans  to  changing 
circumstances.  Thornton  felt,  on  emerging  from  his 
apprenticeship,  that  he  must  do  some  experimental 1 
work,  with  a  view  to  seeing  upon  what  he  should  first 
launch  forth.  We  have  already  seen  that  the  various 
possibilities  had  been  from  the  outset  quite  clear  to  his 
mind.  They  were  not  less  clear  now  in  1903  than  they 
were  in  1899;  but  the  question  with  a  man  like  this 
never  is,  What  plan  ?  but,  Which  plan  ? 

Like  a  wise  man,  he  turned  to  existing  work,  and 
sought  to  develop  its  possibilities  in  new  directions. 
To  his  hand  lay  the  Church  Missionary  Society's  Book 
Depot,  situated  in  the  very  heart  of  the  city,  and 
already  well  known  to  Moslems,  including  several  Azhar 
students.  This  place  appealed  to  Thornton  for  two 
reasons :  he  saw  in  it  a  means  of  securing  personal 
contact  and  work  among  individuals,  and  a  means  of 
circulating  the  message  by  means  of  literature. 

1('I  made  several  experiments  with  a  view  to  testing  the  feelings  of  the 
upper  and  middle  classes,  and  finding  out  how  best  to  influence  them  for 

Christ."— Letter.  May  1904. 

H6 


D.   M.  THORNTON 

Cairo,  1903. 


EXPERIMENTAL  147 

With  characteristic  energy  he  set  to  work,  and  soon 
had  shifted  all  the  furniture  and  shelves  about,  added 
new  furniture,1  and  transformed  the  appearance  of  the 
place.  Then  he  threw  it  open  at  nights,  organising  a 
succession  of  voluntary  workers  to  be  present  on  suc- 
cessive nights,  in  order  to  welcome  men  in  from  the 
street,  seat  them  with  all  due  courtesy,  give  them 
books  to  read,  or  discuss  with  them  if  discussion  was 
preferred. 

In  April  he  could  write  to  the  Church  Missionary 
Society — 

"  It  cannot  be  said  that  until  this  year  we  have 
ever  gauged  the  attitude  of  all  classes  of  people  in 
Cairo  towards  Christianity.  But  we  have  now,  by  a 
series  of  experiments,  begun  to  test  what  that  attitude 
really  is,  and  the  results  we  are  gathering  are  most 
interesting." 

Here  is  a  graphic  sketch  of  this  work,  written  at 
the  time — 

"  I  am  writing  here  at  my  post  in  our  depot,  which 
we  have  fitted  up  now  as  a  sitting-room  as  well  as  a 
shop.  There  are  two  large  'divans,'  or  armed  sofas, 
and  two  large  bookcases  containing  Bibles  and  Testa- 
ments, and  portions  in  all  the  languages  spoken  or 
read  in  these  parts,  e.g.  Arabic,  Turkish,  Greek, 
Italian,  French,  English,  German,  Armenian,  Abyssinian, 
Nubian,  Hebrew,  and  Bible  Greek.  The  inner  room, 
where  I  have  my  Bible  readings  with  our  workers  and 
my  talks  to  catechumens  and  confirmandi,  is  surrounded 

1  Thornton  was  very  great  at  arranging  furniture.  If  he  was  tired,  no 
greater  joy  and  diversion  could  be  found  for  him  than  to  allow  him  entirely 
to  rearrange  the  furniture  of  his  drawing-room  and  study  ;  if  he  was  very 
tired,  to  rearrange  his  own  and  somebody  else's  furniture  too,  if  possible  ! 


148  D.  M.  THORNTON 

by  bookcases  for  our  stores  of  Bibles,  prayer-books, 
hymn-books,  tracts,  and  other  religious  books.  This 
is  a  very  precious  spot,  as  it  has  seen  interviews  with 
all  our  enquirers.  It  is  not  a  beautiful  place,  but  good 
work  is  done  there,  and  many  a  prayer  has  risen  from 
Moslem  hearts  to  God  in  Christ  from  that  tiny  place. 
We  have  two  show  windows  outside,  and  a  covered 
colonnade  in  front  of  one  of  them.  Passers-by  read 
the  Scriptures  chained  here,  and  the  texts  of  the 
'  Silent  Comforter '  that  is  suspended  on  the  door  for 
them  to  see. 

"  How  shall  I  describe  what  goes  on  here  ?  You  must 
get  out  of  your  heads  altogether  the  idea  of  a  regular 
meeting.  To-night,  as  no  one  was  free  to  stand  at  the 
door  and  invite  people  in,  I  went  myself.  Meanwhile, 
Skander  (the  Moslem  convert  who  was  baptized  in 
Easter  1901)  was  talking  to  one  group,  and  Nicola  (a 
Syrian  Christian  who  has  worked  at  the  depot  for 
several  years)  to  another  group.  Nobody  of  any  im- 
portance came  in  at  my  invitation,  but  I  gave  tracts  to 
three  Egyptian  soldiers  who  couldn't  read,  but  said  some 
of  their  mates  could.  Then  I  returned  to  find  some 
young  effendis  (gentlemen),  who  were  rather  annoyed 
at  so  many  simple  folk  coming  in.  So  I  offered  them 
to  come  into  the  inner  room  instead.  This  led  to  a  con- 
versation, partly  in  English  and  partly  in  Arabic,  with 
them.  Their  leader  told  me  I  ought  to  separate  the 
gentry  from  the  others,  which  gave  me  an  excellent  oppor- 
tunity to  show  them  that  Christianity  was  for  all,  and 
the  place  was  free  to  all  comers.  I  added,  however,  that 
I  was  hoping  to  find  a  place  for  'effendis'  especially. 
Before  they  went  I  pointed  out  to  them  that  the  most 
important  thing  was  not  an  abstruse  discussion  about 
the  Trinity,  but  whether  they  knew  Christ  as  a  personal 
Saviour  or  not  ?  and  had  their  religion  any  Saviour  to 
give  them  ?  This  led  to  a  most  interesting  talk,  and 
they  were  willing  to  receive  Gospels  each,  and  promised 
to  read  them.  It  is  such  a  step  to  get  an  educated 
Moslem  to  be  willing  to  read  the  Bible,  and  not  only  to 


EXPERIMENTAL  149 

talk  about  it  from  outside,  that  I  think  money  spent  in 
distributing  Gospels  will  do  great  good,  and  it  helps  one 
to  make  friends  at  once.  These  young  fellows  have 
made  an  appointment  for  next  Thursday  evening,  and 
I  hope  by  then  to  have  the  inner  room  fitted  up  for 
them  better.  One  of  them  stayed  behind,  and  took  an 
English  New  Testament  and  asked  me  to  explain  it  to 
him.  They  seemed  very  astounded  to  hear  I  had  studied 
St.  John's  Gospel  for  fifteen  years  and  had  not  half 
fathomed  it  yet. 

"  I  see  clearly  I  must  soon  get  a  new  residence  suited 
for  work  amongst  these  'effendis.'  The  door  is  wide 
open  to  the  westernised  Egyptian.  Pray  that  it  may 
also  be  open  to  the  Azhar  student.  We  are  hoping  to 
start  a  book  shop  up  in  the  Azhar  University  quarter, 
with  a  view  to  reaching  more  of  them  there.  I  suppose 
only  100  out  of  a  10,000  have  ever  entered  our  depot  in 
the  centre  of  the  city.  I  see  clearly  now  that  the  way 
to  draw  the  '  effendi '  will  be  by  explaining  the  Bible  in 
English  and  Arabic.  In  fact  I  think  it  will  be  well 
to  hold  Bible  classes  in  both  languages.  Their  own 
language  is  of  so  little  educational  value  to  them  that 
I  think  we  shall  have  to  teach  them  by  means  of  both. 
I  should  like,  therefore,  to  get  a  supply  of  English  Bibles, 
nicely  printed,  for  such  classes. 

"  Pray,  then,  for  suitable  premises,  for  openings,  for 
funds,  and  that  an  extra  worker  may  be  sent  to  us." 

[The  "  suitable  premises  "  were  acquired  that  year ; 
the  "  openings  "  were  made ;  the  "  funds  "  were  granted ; 
but  to  the  day  of  his  death  no  "  extra  worker  "  was  sent 
to  the  Cairo  work !] 

And  a  little  later — 

"It  is  now  three  months  since  we  got  ready  the 
book  depot  for  the  feast  of  Bairam  el  Futur,  after 
the  end  of  Ramadhan.  We  made  it  more  habitable 


150  D.  M.  THORNTON 

and  comfortable  by  putting  some  simple  divans  round 
the  room,  so  as  to  try  whether  that  would  attract  more 
people  by  day  to  come  in  and  read.  I  also  began  at 
that  time  opening  the  place  every  evening  except 
Saturday.  It  soon  became  a  success.  There  was  no 
difficulty  in  filling  the  room  every  night,  if  someone 
invited  people  in  at  the  door.  And  people  were 
gathered  in,  some  to  read  tracts  and  controversial 
books,  some  to  hold  discussions,  and  a  few  really  to 
enquire  about  the  truth. 

"Everyone  connected  with  our  mission  in  Cairo  was 
pleased.  Several  volunteered  to  come  and  help  us 
night  after  night,  and  one  young  teacher  (who  wishes 
some  day  to  be  a  catechist)  has  never  failed  to  come, 
except  once  when  he  was  ill.  The  result  is  that 
everyone  is  encouraged,  and  everyone  is  given  an 
opportunity  of  personal  conversations  and  giving  help 
to  their  Moslem  brethren.  It  has  also  proved  a  rallying 
place  for  all  our  enquirers,  where  they  have  met, 
and  got  to  know  one  another,  and  even  help  one 
another. 

"  This  has  had  an  immediate  effect  upon  our  Sunday 
morning  congregation.  The  number  of  men  has  in- 
creased month  by  month,  and  the  enquirers  have 
begun  to  attend  regularly. 

"  Will  you  not  praise  the  Lord  with  us,  and  ask 
Him  to  give  us  a  living  church  of  Moslem  converts 
from  every  trade  and  rank,  and  every  nationality  to 
be  found  here  in  Cairo. 

"I  am  now  concerned  as  to  how  to  reach  a  larger 
number  of  the  'effendis'  (gentlemen).  We  have 
therefore  opened  up  the  inner  room  at  the  book 
depot,  and  removed  the  greater  part  of  our  stock  to 
the  school  premises.  It  now  is  fitted  up  and  furnished, 
and  only  needs  a  second  entrance  from  the  court 
behind  to  draw  these  '  effendis '  at  night,  I  trust. 

"But  the  place  is  not  yet  known  to  them.  I  hope 
soon,  however,  to  be  able  to  advertise  it  quietly.  We 


EXPERIMENTAL  1 5 1 

need  much  guidance  now,  and  as  the  work  grows  we 
shall  soon  need  more  rooms  and  larger  ones." 

These  two  letters  show  how  carefully  he  advanced 
from  step  to  step.  He  felt  his  way  to  the  "effendi" 
work,  presently  to  be  described,  by  inviting  "effendis" 
into  the  depot,  and  by  attracting  their  attention,  as  we 
shall  see,  in  special  ways  ("advertising  it  quietly"  he 
calls  it). 

The  idea  of  an  international  church  of  Moslem 
converts,  alluded  to  above,  now  took  strong  possession  of 
his  mind.  He  felt  that  Moslem  converts  would  be 
the  strongest  of  all  possible  agencies  for  the  revival 
and  encouragement  of  eastern  Christians — 

"Give  us  a  living  church  of  Moslem  converts  here, 
and  they  will,  I  believe,  lead  the  way  to  the  Easterns 
to  greater  activity  for  Christ." 

To  the  end  he  had  the  same  faith,  and  worked 
according  to  that  faith. 

Then  the  "quiet  advertisement."  As  to  its  quiet- 
ness some  had  doubts;  but  there  was  no  doubts  as 
to  its  boldness.  He  had  attractive  handbills  printed, 
rather  like  a  publisher's  circular,  setting  forth  the 
desirable  wares  and  advantages  of  the  book  depot, 
and  waited  for  a  certain  great  day  in  the  spring, 
when  the  entire  world  of  native  Cairo  fashion  and 
learning  (but  not  its  wife,  for  that  stays  at  home) 
crosses  the  Nile  Bridge  to  witness  the  Government 
Schools  Sports.  His  theory  was  that  when  people  are 
on  holiday  they  are  in  a  good  humour,  and  when 


152  D.  M.  THORNTON 

they  are  in  a  good  humour  they  will  accept  hand- 
bills. This  psychological  forecast  was  justified. 
Thousands  of  those  handbills  were  distributed  by 
volunteers  at  the  two  ends  of  the  narrow  Nile  Bridge 
to  the  streams  of  men  and  youths  returning  from  the 
sports.  And  commotion  there  was  none.  Nor  were 
the  handbills  flung  away. 

On  the  same  principle  of  assuming  that  the  human 
animal  is  friendly  when  it  is  pleased,  a  party  was 
organised  on  Easter  Monday  (a  universal  holiday)  to 
go  to  the  several  chief  places  which  are  always 
thronged  with  tens  of  thousands  of  holiday-makers, 
and  there  to  distribute  pamphlets,  not  controversial 
ones,  but  tracts  of  general  moral  interest.  Again 
there  was  success,  and  "quiet  advertisement"  also, 
for  the  pamphlets  bore  on  them  the  address  of  the 
book  depot.  He  wrote — 

"Last  Monday  being  Easter  Monday  (among  the 
Easterns),  was  another  excellent  opportunity.  So  we 
organised  three  bands  of  workers  to  go  to  the  three 
popular  holiday  resorts,  and  to  distribute  2000  copies  of 
a  Temperance  tract  called  'Drinks,'  written  by  one  of 
our  native  workers,  and  much  liked.  Those  who  seemed 
interested  were  also  given  notices  of  our  depot  and 
reading-room.  If  we  had  had  10,000  instead  of  2000 
we  could  have  used  them  well,  but  our  Free  Distribution 
Fund  is  very  low  just  now. 

"  Now  what  is  the  result  of  our  work.  We  have  all 
come  to  see  that  a  great  change  is  coming  over  the 
people.  Only  one  tract  was  seen  to  be  torn  up,  and 
several  said  to  me,  '  This  is  a  moral  tract,  but  haven't 
you  one  about  Christ  also  ? '  or  words  to  that  effect. 
The  keenness  with  which  the  tracts  were  asked  for  or 


EXPERIMENTAL  153 

taken  betokens  a  widespread  spirit  of  enquiry.  The 
fact  that  numbers  are  now  coming  to  our  depot  and 
asking  for  more  for  their  friends  is  a  further  indication 
of  good  that  is  being  done.  The  notice  being  taken  by 
some  of  the  Press  is  also  interesting.  And  I  feel  that 
in  the  next  few  years  we  shall  have  an  immense 
opportunity  before  us,  if  only  we  can  take  it,  of  teaching 
the  young  men  of  this  great  city.  But  three  missionaries 
in  Cairo  are  not  sufficient  for  the  task  of  preaching, 
teaching,  and  raising  up  native  agents  and  a  native  church ! 
"  Our  work,  however,  is  not  by  any  means  confined  to 
Cairo,  or  to  Egypt.  It  has  always  been  my  hope  and 
prayer  that  we  might  reach  Al  Azhar  students  from  far 
and  wide,  and  this  is  being  realised.  The  year  began 
with  a  sheikh  enquirer  from  Aleppo.  Since  then  we 
have  quite  a  number  of  young  Syrian  and  Palestinian 
sheikhs  to  our  depot,  and  to  our  Thursday  evening  lantern 
meeting  there.  Please  remember  us  in  your  prayers." 

The  last  paragraph  is  all  in  keeping  with  the  man 
as  we  already  have  seen  him :  the  eye  always  on 
the  object  at  hand,  and  yet,  somehow,  looking  over 
it  to  vast  horizons  beyond. 

Sometimes,  specially  at  the  week  of  the  Moslem 
Feast,  things  at  the  depot  got  decidedly  lively.  But 
no  harm  was  done;  never  was  there  any  approach  to 
the  revival  of  some  trouble  that  had  attended  some 
open-air  preaching,  which  had  been  held  his  first 
summer  (contrary  to  his  expressed  opinion).  That 
seemed  to  have  passed  away,  and  a  better  spirit  to 
reign. 

Personal  work  went  on.    He  writes  about  this  time — 

"The  fight  has  begun  with  the  sheikhs  here,  and 
I  am  in  the  thick  of  the  Mohammedan  controversy. 


154  D.  M.  THORNTON 

Only  last  night  I  was  talking  for  an  hour  with  one  of 
the  ablest,  but  yet  one  of  the  most  conceited  sheikhs  in 
Cairo.  They  do  not  seem  so  afraid  of  us  now  as  they 
were.  So  they  come  into  our  depot,  more  than  they 
have  done  for  long.  Some  of  these  men  are  most 
interesting.  One  is  a  deep  thinker  and  a  regular  mystic, 
who  accepts  the  Death  and  Resurrection  of  Christ,  but 
stumbles  over  the  nature  of  the  Ascension,  and  finds  just 
the  same  difficulties  which  an  advanced  Christian  does 
in  trying  to  reconcile  the  localisation  of  Christ's  glorified 
humanity  with  His  omnipresence.  I  have  one  or  two 
very  interesting  young  effendiya  of  the  school  of  law 
and  training  college  also. 

"We  have  waited  several  months  to  find  premises 
that  will  do  for  residences  and  our  work.  I  hope  that 
some  found  on  Good  Friday  may  prove  to  be  the  ones. 
If  so,  it  will  be  interesting,  as  it  used  to  be  the  house  of 
Arabi  Pasha,  and  so  the  hotbed  of  intrigue.  May  many 
souls  be  born  again  in  those  walls." 

And  nothing  gave  him  greater  pleasure,  then  as 
always,  than  something  in  the  shape  of  a  class  for 
inquirers  or  workers,  on  the  Bible,  or  the  Creed,  or 
the  Prayer-Book.  Very  carefully  were  these  classes 
prepared  for,  and  they  proved  the  most  valuable 
method  of  improving  his  Arabic. 

The  allusion  to  the  house  "found  on  Good  Friday" 
is  the  first  mention  of  the  building  which  ultimately 
proved  to  be  his  home  till  the  end;  and  it  marks 
the  entering  on  a  period  for  which  this  "  experimental " 
work  had  been  a  preparation.  It  will  have  been 
noted  that  that  work  fell  roughly  under  two  heads — 
Literary,  and  Evangelistic.  How  each  was  developed 
will  be  told  in  the  two  following  chapters. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE   LITERATURE  IDEA 

IN  his  first  half-year,  as  has  been  already  seen,  Thornton 
had  emphasised  the  importance  of  evangelisation  by 
means  of  literature,  and  it  was  only  a  question  of  time 
for  him  to  take  up  this  aspect  of  work  very  seriously. 
His  superintendence  of  a  book  depot,  where  the  sale  of 
religious  books  was  constantly  going  on,  and  from  which 
some  small  publications  had  already  gone  out,  enabled 
him  to  develop  this  branch  of  work  immediately.  He 
was  also  the  efficient  secretary  of  a  Publication  Com- 
mittee which  was  formed  until  a  mission  press  should 
be  actually  started.  Already,  in  1903  ("the  experi- 
mental period"),  he  had  superintended  the  publication  of 
a  few  important  works ;  and  he  is  already  writing  to 
the  Bishop  of  Salisbury  :  "  I  hope  to  develop  this  work 
of  publishing  from  our  depot  Arabic  works  on  all  aspects 
of  the  Mohammedan  question."  And  later  on  he  wrote — 

"  I  am  writing  thus  to  you  as  one  who  has  taken 
some  trouble  to  think  out  how  literary  work  should  be 
developed  in  Egypt.  You  know  that  I  have  for  years 
been  trying  to  prepare  myself  for  such  work.  I  do  not 
feel  I  shall  ever  be  able  to  write  well  in  Arabic,  but  I 
am  sure  I  can  inspire  others  to  write,  and  I  have  plenty 

155 


156  D.   M.  THORNTON 

of  ideas  already  in  hand.  If  the  C.M.S.  at  home  say 
they  cannot  do  as  we  ask  them  to  do ;  if  there  are 
local  difficulties  in  the  way  of  enabling  us  to  do  such 
work  under  the  direction  of  Egypt  Conference ;  then  I 
feel  very  like  looking  elsewhere  for  help,  or  asking 
the  C.M.S.  to  lend  me  to  some  literature  society  for 
the  purpose.  But  the  method  is  secondary  to  the  im- 
portance of  the  work  itself,  and  I  ask  you  to  seek  the 
Lord's  clear  guidance  at  this  time  on  our  behalf,  that 
what  is  best  for  the  Kingdom  may  be  brought  about. 
We  have  a  glorious  opportunity  before  us  here  of 
patiently  and  persistently  preaching  righteousness,  and 
proclaiming  the  efficacy  of  the  Death  of  our  blessed  Lord 
and  the  power  of  His  Resurrection.  We  now  know  that 
we  shall  be  listened  to  attentively.  Is  it  not  a  call  to  go 
forward  in  our  Master's  name,  and  seek  to  use  the  liberty 
of  the  Press,  and  the  demand  for  information  from  the 
West  ? " 

First  of  all,  then,  he  set  to  work  with  the  material 
lying  to  hand.  He  went  thoroughly  over  the  English 
and  Arabic  stock  at  the  book  depot,  and  took  measures 
to  add  very  largely  to  it.  All  the  details  of  ordering, 
stocking,  cataloguing,  pricing  and  accounting,  he  saw  to 
himself.  He  was  particularly  keen  on  developing  the 
sale  of  English  books,  as  he  felt  that  it  was  a  real 
service  to  the  country  to  stimulate  the  sale  of  pure 
literature,  and  he  believed  also  that  this  department 
would  bring  the  best  sort  of  educated  Egyptian  into 
touch  with  the  work.  Large  orders  of  good  English 
books,  standard  poetical  and  prose  works,  and  books  for 
boys  and  girls,  were  therefore  made  by  him. 

The  circulation  of  literature  in  missionary  work  is  a 
far  more  anxious  task  than  its  production.  In  Egypt 


THE  LITERATURE  IDEA  157 

this  was  effected  in  two  ways,  by  sales  from  the  central 
depot  and  by  colportage  in  the  provinces.  Both  of 
these  works  were  under  the  entire  superintendence  of 
Thornton. 

Finally,  he  initiated  a  publication  department. 

The  labours  involved  in  all  this  work  were  very  great, 
and  often  did  he  appeal  for  someone  to  be  sent  out,  with 
business  training,  especially  in  accounts,  bookselling, 
and  publishing ;  but  although  the  Society  sought  to  find 
such  a  man,  he  was  not  found.  And  if  he  was  needed 
then,  how  much  more  now  ?  The  following  passage 
gives  a  good  idea  of  part  of  his  work  at  this  time : — 

"  Such  is  the  status  quo,  very  weakly  put,  because  I 
really  cannot  spend  more  time  to  strengthen  the  case. 
It  does  not  succeed  in  conveying,  I  see,  how  bound  up 
the  whole  work  is  both  of  periodical  colportage,  sales, 
and  publication  work.  It  fails  to  reveal  the  time  spent 
upon  correspondence,  not  twice  a  year  for  orders  as  four 
years  ago,  but  almost  weekly.  It  does  not  show  the 
immense  amount  of  secular  labour  involved  in  an 
Oriental  city  in  conducting  business  from  start  to  finish 
without  any  competent  clerical  or  business  aid.  It  does 
not  show  either  the  large  amount  of  vernacular  super- 
intendance  that  is  involved,  and  the  close  scrutiny  of 
details,  such  as  would  be  undreamt  of  as  necessary  in 
England." 

The  mention  of  the  initiation  of  a  publishing  scheme 
brings  us  to  such  an  important  point  that  the  occasion 
must  be  taken  to  set  forth  his  ideas  on  the  subject,  and 
trace  their  orderly  development.  It  has  already  been  seen 
that  even  during  the  first  year  of  work  in  Bait  Arabi 
Pasha,  on  the  lines  already  described,  he  felt  that  this 


158  D.  M.  THORNTON 

method  of  work  needed  supplementing;  and  by  the 
summer  he  was  ready  with  a  new  scheme  for  so  supple- 
menting it.  To  many  it  seemed  as  if  Thornton  turned 
out  schemes  without  rhyme  or  reason,  and  that  he  got 
tired  of  one  and  refreshed  himself  with  starting  another. 
This  impression  must  have  been  due  to  something  in  his 
too  sanguine  manner  of  speech  and  style  of  writing,  for 
the  truth  is  the  opposite.  His  schemes  were  of  the 
nature  of  an  evolution,  the  last  one  was  ever  closely 
connected  with  the  one  before,  and  so,  far  from  super- 
seding it,  necessitated  it,  and  was  necessitated  by  it, 
being  (to  him)  its  logical  outcome.  He  was  like  the 
general  who  secures  the  position  he  has  taken  to-day  by 
taking  yet  another  one  farther  in  advance  to-morrow. 
And  he  did  not  propose  to  do  a  new  work  until  he  was 
convinced  the  former  work  could  be  carried  on  without 
injury.  Such  was  his  rule,  and  if  he  very  occasionally 
came  near  infringing  it, — something  must  be  conceded 
to  the  weakness  of  the  flesh !  Thornton  generally  did 
himself  less  than  justice,  and  it  is  not  until  one  studies 
the  documents  he  has  left — litera  scripta  manet — that 
one  sees  the  soundness  and  consistency  of  the  thinking  to 
which  he  so  often  contrived  to  give  the  appearance  of 
rash  inconsecutiveness. 

If  anything  were  needed  to  urge  him  immediately 
to  undertake  this  work,  it  would  have  been  found  in 
the  publication  of  an  Arabic  tract  about  that  time 
which  was  distributed  broadcast  in  Cairo,  even  at  the 
doors  of  the  meetings,  and  which  made  a  deep  impres- 
sion throughout  the  city.  It  will  interest  the  reader 


THE  LITERATURE  IDEA  159 

to    see    the   sort  of  thing  published  by   our   Moslem 
friends  (who  quite  understand  "the  literature  idea"). 

"  It  has  been  circulated  to  nearly  every  shop  in  Cairo, 
Alexandria,  Port  Said,  and  Suez,  and  from  Lord  Cromer 
down  to  the  humblest  in  the  city.  The  back  of  the  paper 
contains  an  advertisement  of  the  author's  bookshop  and 
books  specially  written  to  withstand  the  preaching  of 
the  missionaries  !  Realise  that  this  pamphlet  has  been 
issued  by  the  hundred  thousand,  and  is  only  one  of  many." 

"A  STRANGE  QUESTION. 
In  answer  to  the  people  of  the  Cross  .  .  . 

O  ye  worshippers  of  Jesus,  here  is  a  wonderful 
question  for  you,  and  have  you  an  answer  ? 

If  Jesus,  as  you  suppose,  was  a  mighty  and  powerful 
God  to  be  feared,  how  is  it  you  believe  that  the  Jews 
made  Him  to  taste  bitter  punishment  by  crucifixion  ? 

And  how  can  you  believe  that  God  died  and  was 
buried  under  the  earth  ? 

Or  asks  for  a  drink  from  his  creatures  to  quench 
the  fire  of  his  heart  ? 

So  that  one  of  them  brought  him  myrrh  and 
vinegar,  the  vilest  of  drinks,  and  then  that  he  threw  it 
on  the  ground  in  anger  at  him,  and  died  with 
thirst,  and  broken-hearted ! 

(You  say  that)  a  crown  of  thorns  was  placed  on  his 
head  to  shame  him,  and  it  made  his  blood  to  flow  upon 
his  cheek  till  it  became  like  dye  upon  his  face;  and 
that  he  rode  an  ass  to  save  himself  from  the  weariness 
of  the  road  which  he  had  traversed. 

You  claim  that  Phares  was  his  ancestor,  and  that 
he  sprang  of  fornication  and  of  crime. 

But  the  Lord  does  not  bring  to  his  people  one  sprung 
from  fornication  for  their  reward. 

After  this  you  reckon  him  as  God,  and  are  not 
ashamed  of  reproof. 


160  D.  M.  THORNTON 

What  is  he,  save  those  like  him,  a  servant  to  his 
Maker,  and  one  of  them  that  draw  nigh  (to  God),  as  he 
has  said  of  himself  in  a  true  text  which  came  in  the 
Book  (i.e.  the  Koran)  ? 

Had  he  been  Lord,  as  you  suppose,  whom  was  he 
beseeching  to  disclose  the  nature  of  his  punishment  ? 
Who  was  the  one  to  whom  he  gave  back  his  spirit 
when  it  left  his  body  for  its  journey  ?  And  who  after 
him  preserved  the  order  of  the  universe  till  the  time 
of  his  coming  again  ?  Is  there  a  Lord  equal  to  him 
to  be  surety  for  his  ordered  (world),  or  did  he  leave  it  to 
destruction  ? 

"Dilemmas  of  the  Crucifixion. 

Was  his  crucifixion  for  a  fault,  or  else  why  did  he 
deserve  to  be  punished  ? 

Did  the  people  do  well  to  crucify  him,  in  order  to 
bring  salvation  to  your  old  men  and  your  youths,  or 
otherwise,  did  they  do  harm  by  procuring  salvation  for 
you  ?  Truly  this  is  an  astounding  suggestion  ! 

But  and  if  you  say  they  did  well,  and  did  nought 
save  the  right  thing,  I  ask  why  do  you  (then)  count 
them  as  enemies,  though  he  that  doeth  good  is  given  his 
reward  ? 

But  if  you  say  they  committed  a  crime  by  crucify- 
ing the  Godhead — how  evil  the  deed ! — I  answer, 
how,  were  it  not  for  him  (God),  would  you  have  been 
saved  from  the  penalties  of  the  judgment  day  ? 

Did  he  consent  to  be  crucified,  or  was  he  under  com- 
pulsion ? 

What  is  your  decisive  reply  ? 

"  Voluntary. 

For,  if  you  say  that  his  crucifixion  was  voluntary 
to  cover  man's  sin  of  which  he  has  repented  (by  which 
I  refer  to  Adam  the  noble,  who  returned  to  his  Maker 
and  repented  of  what  he  had  done  wrong ;  whom  God 


THE  LITERATURE  IDEA  161 

forgave  out  of  his  goodness,  and  that  after  aiding  him 
to  find  a  place  for  repentance),  then  you  have  lied 
against  your  Lord,  in  respect  of  his  actions  as  truly 
related  in  the  Book  (i.e.  the  Gospel) ;  because  he  used  to 
escape  from  his  cross,  and  wept  and  wailed  about  him- 
self, and  cried — 

'Rescue  me,  thou  God  of  heaven,  by  thy  favour 
from  these  hard  trials,'  and  '  Eloi,  Eloi,'  he  called  aloud, 
'  wherefore  to-day  dost  thou  abandon  me  to  chastise- 
ment ?  If  it  be  possible,  O  my  creator,  to  save  ine,  do 
so,  thou  best  of  Fathers.' 

This  is  a  proof  that  he  was  a  servant  to  his  Master 
without  a  doubt. 

This  is  a  proof  that  ye  have  lied,  and  in  your  saying 
have  gone  aside  from  the  truth. 

"  Involuntary. 

But  if  ye  say  that  the  crucifixion  was  by  force,  how 
weak  of  an  Almighty  Lord !  Surely  curses  have  come 
to  him  from  all  sides  by  his  being  hung  upon  a  wooden 
cross,  even  as  the  text  of  your  own  Gospels  and  Tourat 
tells  you,  nor  is  the  blame  to  us. 

"  Summary. 

Answer  ye  my  question,  and  do  not  forget,  for 
silence  will  be  to  you  a  reproach.  Behold  I  have  given 
my  exhortation,  and  I  hope,  because  of  my  exhortation 
to  you,  for  a  good  reward.  May  I  die  in  the  religion  of 
the  best  of  men  (i.e.  Mohammed),  and  may  I  not  see 
the  terrors  of  the  day  of  judgment.  That  you  may 
accept  this  religion  is  my  purpose  and  desire.  I  am 
happy  in  it,  and  find  it  to  be  good — 

'  But  if  not  then  you  will  remain  in  your  religion, 
Although  what  is  behind  the  veil  has  been  made  clear.'" 

11 


1 62  D.  M.  THORNTON 

"  Do  not  our  hearts  burn  within  us,  as  we  read  these 
words,  to  preach  to  these  Moslem  brethren  the  glory 
of  the  Cross  and  the  fellowship  of  His  sufferings  ?  And 
can  you  wonder  that  we  have  asked  the  C.M.S.  to  make 
greater  use  of  the  printed  page  in  Egypt,  in  order  to 
preach  Christ  crucified  aright  ? " 

And  thus  it  was  that  in  1904,  at  the  end  of  the 
first  "  season "  in  Bait  Arabi  Pasha,  he  applied  for 
leave  to  initiate  a  publishing  scheme,  the  nucleus  of 
which  should  be  a  weekly  or  monthly  periodical,  in 
connection  with  which  there  should  be  issued  pamphlets 
and  books  on  all  subjects  necessary  for  evangelistic 
work  among  Moslems,  direct  or  indirect.  And  the 
best  possible  way  of  explaining  this  point  is  to  set 
down  here  the  memorandum  he  wrote  to  the  Society 
on  the  subject,  as  it  is  a  document  of  more  than 
temporary  interest — 

"CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  IN  EGYPT. 

"It  would  seem  to  be  a  peculiarly  opportune  time,  just 
at  present,  to  impress  the  Christian  public  in  England, 
and  more  especially  the  more  educated  portion  of  the 
same,  of  the  opportunities  presented  in  many  different 
mission  fields  for  the  spread  of  Christian  literature  upon 
a  very  much  more  extended  scale  than  hitherto.  And 
many  are  feeling  that  the  time  has  come  for  all  missionary 
agencies  far  more  generally  to  recognise  literature  as  the 
most  important  pioneer  agency  for  reaching  the  educated 
classes  in  all  semi-civilised  lands. 

"The  effect  of  Bible  circulation  and  portions  of  the 
same  has  recently  been  uniquely  demonstrated  all  over 
the  world  in  connection  with  the  gatherings  of  the  Bible 
Society  centenary.  This  has  coincided  with  an  extra- 


THE  LITERATURE  IDEA  163 

ordinary  demand  for  literature,  be  it  secular  or  religious, 
on  the  part  of  that  great  awakening  nation  of  China, 
and  I  am  much  impressed  with  the  way  in  which  the 
Chinese  Tract  Society  and  Diffusion  Society  are  seeking 
to  meet  the  demand.  So,  too,  the  action  of  several  English 
and  American  Missionary  Societies  in  sending  some  of 
their  best  and  most  experienced  workers  to  the  literary 
capitals  of  various  provinces  to  influence  the  literati  is 
a  sign  of  the  times.  One  notes  also  the  immense  advan- 
tage presented  by  China  possessing  in  Mandarin  such  a 
literary  and  widely  read  language  in  which  to  convey 
the  Christian  message  to  such  multitudes. 

"  But  to  turn  from  the  hundreds  of  millions  of  the  Far 
East  to  the  tens  of  millions  of  Bible  lands,  I  beg  to  point 
out  how  much  more  relatively  important  literature  must 
be  as  a  pioneer  agency  here.  If  literature  is  necessary 
to  small  young  nations  like  Uganda  as  a  medium  of 
Christian  instruction,  or  to  great  old  nations  like 
China,  just  emerging  from  her  splendid  isolation  and 
self-sufficiency,  how  much  more  must  it  be  so  in 
lands,  such  as  Turkey  and  Egypt,  that  lie  upon  the 
highway  between  east  and  west,  and  open  to  all  the 
influences,  political,  social,  and  moral,  of  the  west.  If 
this  be  used  as  an  argument  for  the  wide  spread  of 
Christian  literature  in  India,  when  only  infidel  books 
in  English  are  widely  read,  how  much  more  needy  are 
these  Bible  lands,  in  which  European  literature  of  the 
most  destructive  kind  is  widely  read  in  French  and 
Italian  as  well.  In  days  when  popular  education  was 
of  the  narrowest  and  strictest  kind,  consisting  almost 
entirely  of  subjects  connected  with  the  Koran,  the  evil 
influences  of  modern  literature  were  comparatively 
non-existent,  for  however  imperfect  and  narrowing  it 
might  be,  popular  education  was  at  anyrate  religious, 
and  taught  by  religious  leaders.  But  with  the  popular- 
ising of  secular  education  and  the  visits  of  abler 
students  to  the  capitals  and  universities  of  Europe, 
and  the  acquisition  of  French  or  English  by  all  the 
educated  classes,  these  countries  have  become  exposed 


1 64  D.  M.  THORNTON 

to  the  greatest  dangers  from  without.  To  these,  in  the 
case  of  Egypt,  must  be  added  all  the  mingled  influences 
of  an  exceedingly  active  and  comparatively  free  native 
press,  which  translates  into  Arabic  all  the  leading  works 
of  infidels  in  Europe,  especially  those  that  are  directed 
against  Christianity,  and  circulates  them  at  the  cheapest 
possible  prices  broadcast  throughout  the  land.  So  that 
the  very  vehicle  which  has  secured  for  the  Koran  such  a 
widespread  religious  influence  is  now  being  used  to  secure 
an  equally  widespread  hatred  and  misunderstanding  of 
true  Christianity. 

"  In  face  of  these  facts,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at 
that  one  who  has  been  observing  the  life  and  studying 
the  thoughts  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  metropolis  of 
Egypt  for  over  five  years,  and  seeking  to  evangelize  the 
young  men  of  Cairo  by  individual  conversations,  enquiry 
meetings,  evangelistic  services,  and  lectures  on  moral 
subjects,  should  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
printed  page,  whether  sold  by  the  colporteur  or  given 
by  the  catechist  after  paying  visits  and  holding  meetings, 
is  the  best  pioneer  agency  with  which  to  reach  the 
educated  classes  in  this  land  for  Christ. 


"LIMITATIONS  TO   EVANGELISTIC   WORK   IN   CAIRO. 

"In  order,  however,  to  establish  this  point,  and  to 
remove  the  natural  objection  that  is  always  raised  to 
literature  as  an  evangelistic  agency,  in  some  such  terms  as 
— '  What  appeals  to  the  mind  does  not  necessarily  touch 
the  heart,'  let  me  clear  the  ground  by  explaining  what 
are  the  limitations  and  what  the  opportunities  for  doing 
evangelistic  work  among  the  educated  classes  in  Egypt. 
"  (1)  The  educated  classes  form  only  5  per  cent,  in  the 

towns,  and  much  less  in  the  villages. 
"  (2)  Street-preaching  to  such  is  inadvisable,  and  not 

permitted. 

"(3)  The  clerical  missionary  finds  entrance  into  the 
houses  of   the  middle-classes  impossible,  except 


THE  LITERATURE  IDEA  165 

for  rare  exceptions.  And  even  the  doctor  can 
only  enter  them  in  times  of  illness. 

"(4)  The  visit  of  a  clergyman  to  Moslems  in  their 
shops  or  factories,  except  for  the  purposes  of 
buying,  brings  down  upon  the  shopkeeper  or 
artisan  the  suspicions  of  his  neighbours  at  once. 

"(5)  Such  street  visitation  at  present  is  far  better 
done  by  native  agents  only,  both  in  the  case  of 
non-enquirers  and  enquirers. 

"  (6)  Evangelistic  meetings  in  the  towns  and  villages 
amongst  the  middle  and  upper  classes  are  much 
more  satisfactory  when  preceded  by  personal 
invitations  in  the  towns  by  catechists,  and  in 
the  villages  by  the  missionary. 

"  (7)  The  educational  method  of  influencing  the  homes 
has  these  difficulties.  In  the  case  of  boys,  the 
missionary  school  has  to  compete  with  free 
religious  education  at  the  Azhar  University  and 
its  preparatory  schools  on  the  one  hand,  and  well- 
equipped,  totally  secular  Government  education 
with  moderate  fees  on  the  other. 

"(8)  The  only  way,  therefore,  in  which  the  clerical 
and  evangelistic  missionary  can  find  scope  for 
work  in  the  pioneer  stages  of  a  mission  to  Mos- 
lems like  that  in  Cairo  is  by  largely  remaining 
behind  the  scenes.  He  must  be  accessible  to  all, 
but  not  prominently  before  people's  notice.  And 
this  (in  conjunction  with  the  above-mentioned 
limitations)  practically  confines  the  evangelistic 
worker  in  Ca'iro  (which,  be  it  noted,  is  the  place 
of  greatest  opportunity  and  freedom  in  these 
lands)  to  those  methods  of  work  which  are 
carried  on  upon  mission  premises,  or  seek  to 
bring  to  his  premises  all  sorts  and  conditions 
of  men. 

"  It  will  be  seen  at  once,  therefore,  how  necessary  it  is 
to  use  as  evangelistic  agencies  those  means  which  will 
attract  the  educated  classes  to  meetings,  interviews,  etc., 


1 66  D.  M.  THORNTON 

and  at  same  time  quietly  to  leaven  public  opinion  and 
prepare  the  way  for  wider  opportunities  for  preaching 
the  gospel  later  on.  And  there  is  obviously  no  such 
means  at  our  disposal  as  the  printed  page.  And  so  by 
a  mere  process  of  exclusion,  as  well  as  by  consideration 
of  the  need,  we  are  conclusively  led  to  see  that  the 
circulation  of  Christian  literature  is  the  'most  important 
pioneer  agency  in  Egypt  for  leading  the  educated  classes 
to  Christ." 

So  important  did  he  consider  the  step  which  he  was 
taking,  and  so  anxious  was  he  that  it  should  not  be 
thought  unmeditated  or  rash  that  he  sent  his  secretary 
in  London  an  interesting  Apologia  pro  vita  sua  at 
this  time.  And  the  biographical  importance  of  this 
memorandum  is  so  great  that  it  is  worth  while 
giving  the  substance  of  it  here.  If  it  at  first  seems 
a  little  egotistical  in  tone,  that  is  a  characteristic 
common  to  all  Apologice.  To  Thornton  "the  work" 
was  a  tremendously  serious  thing,  and  he  took  him- 
self seriously  in  it.  It  was  part  of  the  man  to  do  so, 
and  one  loved  him  for  it.  It  may  indeed  be  said 
that,  for  his  own  sake,  a  lighter  touch  would  often 
have  saved  him  trouble  and  brought  about  the  result 
aimed  at  all  the  more  quickly.  But,  the  world  over, 
men  must  be  taken  as  they  are.  Here  then  is  the 
memorandum,  which  is  important,  however,  not  only 
biographically,  but  also  as  a  contribution  to  the  science 
of  missions. 

"  First  of  all,  if  you  will  pardon  a  few  personal 
allusions,  I  would  remind  you  of  my  connection  with 
the  Student  Volunteer  Missionary  Union,  during  which 


THE  LITERATURE  IDEA  167 

time  I  had  the  privilege  of  learning  how  to  think  and 
read  and  work  with  as  much  accuracy  as  possible  by  con- 
tact with  very  various  minds,  whose  habit  it  was  never 
to  do  things  by  halves,  but  to  take  every  step  after 
thorough  deliberation  and  constant  prayer.  You  will 
remember  that  this  period  gave  me  a  unique  oppor- 
tunity of  studying  both  the  religious  and  the  missionary 
operations  in  the  world,  and  of  getting  into  touch  with 
every  part  of  the  mission  field  by  personal  contact  with 
missionaries  and  the  like.  It  enabled  me  also  to  have 
some  little  experience  of  literary  work,  with  all  the 
attendant  advantages  of  contact  with  publishers, 
printers,  and  editors  of  several  missionary  magazines, 
not  to  mention  the  training  of  book-keeping  and  finance 
that  went  alongside  of  it. 

"And  then  you  remember,  I  daresay,  the  circum- 
stances of  my  call  to  the  mission  field.  How  I  was 
led  to  give  myself  to  work  among  Mohammedans. 
How  I  weighed  the  relative  claims  of  India  and 
Hausaland  with  those  of  other  centres  of  Islam.  How 
I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  one  who  had  been  trained 
as  I  had  been  could  do  best  work  in  Cairo  as  being  the 
literary  centre  of  Islam  to-day,  and  the  place  also  of 
greatest  opportunity,  perhaps,  in  the  Moslem  world 
to-day.  Perhaps  Mr.  Fox  has  told  you  what  effect 
that  offer  had  upon  him,  combined  with  the  offer  of 
Gairdner  independently  for  the  same  sort  of  work  on 
the  very  same  day.  Am  I  not  right  in  saying  he 
saw  God's  hand  in  it  ?  This  definite  offer,  coupled 
with  the  readiness,  notwithstanding,  to  go  anywhere, 
if  so  desired  by  the  C.M.S.,  led  to  my  appoint- 
ment, six  years  ago,  to  the  Egypt  Mission,  and  to 
definite  instructions  as  to  the  work  in  which  I  was  to 
engage.  It  was  to  consist,  I  believe,  of  developing 
work  among  young  men  in  Cairo,  with  more  especial 
regard  to  the  students  of  the  Al  Azhar.  And  I 
remember  distinctly  referring  to  the  greatness  of  the 
task  before  me,  and  asked  for  several  years  in  which 


1 68  D.  M.  THORNTON 

to  study  so  difficult  a  language.  Accordingly,  in 
spite  of  my  finding  upon  arrival  here  that  I  was 
expected  to  be  rather  a  firebrand  in  the  Mission,  I 
settled  to  make  as  thorough  a  study  of  Arabic  as 
limited  powers  of  memory  and  linguistic  ability  per- 
mitted. 

"  Combined  with  this,  I  started  on  a  course  of  Bible 
and  doctrinal  study  in  Arabic,  which  soon  made  me 
familiar  with  all  the  chief  theological  terms,  systema- 
tised  instruction  for  enquirers,  and  enabled  the  native 
workers  to  preach  from  a  larger  area  of  the  Bible. 
So  that  now,  with  the  additional  aid  of  a  very  fairly 
complete  set  of  lantern  slides  in  the  Mission,  we  have 
courses  in  the  life  and  teachings  of  our  Lord  and  the 
lives  of  the  Patriarchs  and  the  Prophets.  Of  course, 
this  has  entailed  wide  reading,  both  in  the  ethical  and 
doctrinal  teaching  of  the  Bible,  and  I  hope  it  will  not 
prove  to  have  been  in  vain. 

"  Again,  I  would  point  out  that,  in  spite  of  my  having 
been  asked  for  a  time  to  superintend  boys'  schools,  both 
in  Old  Cairo  and  Cairo,  and  having  been  put  in  charge 
of  Cairo  Christian  and  evangelistic  work,  and  having 
been  drawn  by  Mr.  Adeney  into  the  work  of  the 
depot  and  the  prayer-book  revising,  I  made  no  proposal 
to  Conference  with  regard  to  development  of  any 
branch  of  the  work  until  I  came  home  on  short  fur- 
lough, nor  did  my  branch  of  the  work,  until  then,  cost 
the  Society  one  penny  extra  for  my  doing  it.  But,  in 
April  1902,  a  definite  proposal  was  made  to  develop 
work  among  young  Moslems  in  Cairo. 

"That  was  two  years  ago.  It  was  not  till  fifteen 
months  after  the  grant  was  given  that  suitable  premises 
were  secured.  In  the  meantime,  I  made  several  experi- 
ments with  a  view  to  testing  the  feelings  of  the  upper 
and  middle  classes,  and  finding  out  how  best  to  influence 
them  for  Christ.  Feeling  that  our  evangelistic  work 
had  formerly  been  rather  spasmodic,  and  had  not 
succeeded  in  always  catching  the  ear  of  the  hearers, 
we  tried  for  a  time  the  conversational  method  in  the 


THE  LITERATURE  IDEA  169 

depot,  and  sought  to  find  out  what  was  the  attitude  of 
the  various  classes  towards  the  gospel.  I  went  further 
afield  by  organising  tract  distribution  at  picked  centres 
upon  feast  days  in  holiday  resorts.  The  result  of  all 
this  was  to  show,  as  I  have  pointed  out  in  my  report, 
that  it  is  moral  and  intellectual  subjects,  rather  than 
religious,  that  interest  the  Government  student  class, 
whereas  it  is  the  reverse  in  the  case  of  the  students 
of  Al  Azhar. 

"  These  points  guide  us  as  to  how  to  work  this 
winter,  when  we  had  settled  into  our  premises.  We 
continued  our  direct  evangelistic  preaching  in  the 
depot  by  lantern  meetings;  and  have  drawn  to  them, 
by  means  of  catechist  visiting,  young  men  of  the 
middle  classes  from  all  parts  of  the  city.  And  it  is 
for  this  work  that  we  secure  our  most  hopeful  en- 
quirers at  present.  Over  and  above  this  effort,  we 
have  attempted,  with  considerable  success,  to  get  into 
touch  with  the  upper  classes  in  our  houses. 

"  Side  by  side  with  every  evangelistic  effort,  we  have 
been  watching  very  carefully  the  effect  of  literary 
work.  We  have  watched  the  extraordinary  demand 
among  this  class  for  reading,  and  seen  how  totally 
unable  both  the  Christian  and  Moslem  press  are  to 
supply  any  moral  literature  of  any  kind.  It  is  all 
either  political,  scientific,  or  literary.  We  have  been 
encouraged  by  the  reception  of  our  few  moral  tracts, 
which  I  have  been  able  to  circulate  owing  to  the 
generosity  of  some  who  see  the  value  of  this  kind  of 
work.  And,  therefore,  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  great  need  here  in  the  future  is  a  regular, 
continuous,  and  sustained  effort  to  reach  young  men 
by  means  of  Christian  literature.  And  as  the  meetings 
for  'effendis'  have  given  a  stimulus  to  all  other 
branches  of  our  work,  so  I  believe  that  a  regular 
weekly  religious  journal  will  do  so  still  more. 

"  I  think  from  what  I  said  in  the  opening  clauses  of 
my  letter,  you  will  see  that  I  have  been  long  in 
preparation  for  some  such  work,  and  it  has  been  from 


1 70  D.  M.  THORNTON 

the  first  an  ideal  in  my  mind  to  attain.  It  is  the 
only  way  in  which  I  can  see  any  possibility  of  in- 
fluencing all  the  classes  about  whom  I  wrote  to  you 
five  years  ago,  as  needing  to  be  reached." 

Did  this  ideal  fade  from  his  mind,  or  narrow  down 
in  later  years  ?  On  the  contrary,  it  became  more  and 
more  dominant  and,  instead  of  narrowing,  widened 
more  and  more.  Already,  in  the  first  six  months,  we 
saw  him  viewing  the  Moslem  world,  with  its  inner 
circle  of  Arabic-speaking  peoples,  as  a  single  whole, 
and  dreaming  of  the  power  of  literature  to  reach  that 
world.  That  ideal  was  with  him  in  the  intervening 
years,  but  he  kept  his  peace  about  it.  Now,  from 
the  microscopic  ground  of  a  little  depot  in  Cairo,  he 
sees  the  vision  afresh,  and,  in  working  for  it,  in 
however  small  a  way,  finds  it  grow  brighter  and 
more  definite  than  ever.  The  idea  of  "harnessing" 
the  Arabic  language,  Christianising  it,  i.e.  turning 
that  own  weapon  of  Islam  against  Islam's  own  bosom, 
recurs  to  him  with  enormously  increased  force.  It 
possesses  him;  and,  with  it,  the  complementary  idea 
of  a  society  which  should  do  for  Arabic-speaking 
Moslem  lands,  what  their  Christian  Literature  Societies 
are  doing  for  China  and  for  India.  His  own  efforts 
in  Cairo,  whether  in  the  direction  of  publication  or 
of  circulation,  he  regarded  only  as  a  contribution  to 
a  much  larger  work.  He  did,  indeed,  correspond  with 
missionaries  in  India,  Arabia,  and  Syria,  with  this 
end — the  end  of  co-ordination — in  view.  But  he  knew 
his  limitations ;  without  reinforcements  he  could  do 
nothing.  For  them  he  called — and  called  in  vain. 


THE  LITERATURE  IDEA  171 

It  is  fitting,  therefore,  to  close  this  chapter  on  "  the 
Literature  Idea "  by  yet  another  memorandum  written 
by  him  the  year  before  he  was  taken  from  us.1  The 
missionary  statesman  is  apparent  in  every  line  of  it. 
It  is  part  of  a  paper  read  at  the  Annual  Meeting  of 
the  Christian  Literature  Society  of  India. 

"  The  Oriental  nations  of  the  world,  it  seems  to  me, 
are  presenting  to  the  Churches  of  the  Occident  in  these 
days  such  a  challenge  to  faith  and  intellect  as  the  past 
has  never  yet  seen.  The  days  of  isolation  are  over. 
The  fusion  of  races  has  begun  in  earnest.  The  conflict 
of  moral  and  spiritual  ideals  grows  yearly  more  acute. 
The  intellectual  weapons  of  the  West  are  being  placed 
into  the  hands  of  an  ever-growing  number  of  able 
Eastern  minds.  And  nothing  short  of  the  ablest  states- 
manship, the  clearest  thinking,  the  noblest  living,  and 
the  dedication  of  England's  best  to  the  sustained  contest 
that  lies  before  us  will  avail  to  bring  Christ  a 
triumphant  victory  over  East  as  well  as  West. 

"The  Christian  Literature  Societies  for  India  and 
China,  and  kindred  Societies,  have  been  seeking  to 
grapple  with  the  task  of  leavening  India,  China,  and 
Japan,  with  Christian  teaching.  And  until  quite 
recently,  these  great  and  varied  fields  with  their 
dominant  and  multifarious  languages  have  absorbed 
most  of  the  attention  of  the  linguists  whom  England 
has  sent  forth  to  the  East.  Within  the  last  generation 
it  is  true  that  a  great  advance  has  taken  place  among 
the  tribes  of  Africa,  and  a  very  large  number  of 
languages  and  dialects  have  been  reduced  to  writing, 
especially  among  the  Bantu  and  the  negro  races.  But 
it  has  to  be  confessed  with  regret  that  the  great 
language  of  Arabic,  which  binds  together  the  continents 
of  Asia  and  Africa,  have  not  till  quite  recently  engaged 
the  serious  attention  of  any  Protestants,  save  a  few 
European  professors  and  our  German  and  American 

1  That  is,  1906,  two  years  after  the  Apologia  just  cited. 


172  D.  M.  THORNTON 

missionary  brethren.  All  honour  to  the  long  roll  of 
German  and  American  missionaries  who  have  worked  so 
patiently  and  so  long  in  laying  the  foundations  of  a 
Christian  literature  in  Arabic;  and  may  we  derive 
inspiration  from  their  fortitude  and  perseverance  in 
girding  themselves  to  the  task  of  acquiring  what  is 
widely  recognised  as  the  hardest  language  in  the  world  ! 
But  my  object  to-day  is  to  summon  you  as  English 
laymen  more  earnestly  to  this  task  in  the  light  of  the 
providential  opportunities  now  afforded  to  us. 

"  The  Sphere  of  Arabic. 

"  It  is  impossible  to  repeat  too  often,  or  to  impress  too 
deeply  upon  the  hearts  of  Christians  in  England,  the 
immense  future  that  Arabic  must  have  before  it,  and 
the  enormous  influence  that  this  language  will  have 
upon  tens  of  millions  of  mankind  in  the  days  to  come. 
I  do  not  hesitate  to  say,  or  fear  to  be  contradicted,  when 
I  assert,  that  next  to  the  English  language,  Arabic  is 
read  and  reverenced  over  the  widest  area  of  the  earth's 
surface,  and  as  to  the  actual  number  of  those  that  speak 
Arabic  there  are  at  least  fifty  millions  of  souls,  and  no 
non-Christian  language  is  spreading  at  anything  like 
the  same  rate. 

"There  are  now  over  two  hundred  million  Sunni 
Mohammedans,  and,  the  more  educated  they  become,  the 
more  they  will  seek  to  become  acquainted  with  their 
religious  language.  So  that  it  is  safe  to  say  that,  so 
long  as  Islam  exists  and  spreads  (alongside  of  a 
corresponding  growth  in  education),  so  long  will  Arabic 
increase  in  influence,  and  remain  one  of  the  dominant 
languages  in  the  world. 

"  The  CJiallenge  of  the  Koran. 

"  I  would  further  point  out  that  the  Christian  Church 
is  handicapped  in  seeking  to  Christianise  the  Arabic 
language,  by  the  fact  that  she  is  not  the  first  in  the 
field.  The  standard  classic  in  Arabic  is  not  a  Christian 
but  a  Mohammedan  book,  and  this  book  has  by  far  the 


THE  LITERATURE  IDEA  173 

widest  circulation  and  greatest  influence  over  their 
minds.  It  is  true  that  not  much  of  it  is  understood 
even  in  Arabic-speaking  lands  by  the  illiterate  classes, 
but  year  by  year  the  percentage  among  the  men  of 
those  who  read  and  understand  it  becomes  greater,  and 
the  demand  for  the  editions  of  the  Koran  are  to  my 
knowledge  increasing.  Against  this  we  can  point  to 
a  great  increase  in  the  circulation  of  the  Bible  in 
Arabic,  both  by  Protestants  and  by  Roman  Catholics, 
but  I  have  never  heard  a  Mohammedan  that  had 
been  attracted  by  these  Arabic  versions  as  literary 
productions,  such  as  our  own  English  Bible  can 
claim  to  be.  And,  as  regards  the  New  Testament 
versions,  they  need  very  serious  revision  in  order  to 
come  into  line  with  Nestle's  Greek  Text  adopted  by  the 
B.  and  F.B.S. 

"Future  Ideals. 

"The  reception  given  to  this  paper  in  nearly  five 
hundred  Egyptian  towns  and  villages  already,  combined 
with  the  lessons  taught  us  by  the  recent  Conference 
held  in  Cairo,  has  given  me  several  ideals  for  the 
future,  which  I  hope  to  see  speedily  realised.  The 
first  point  brought  home  to  us  missionaries  in  Cairo 
has  been  the  providential  position  of  Cairo,  and  opening 
in  Cairo,  for  developing  a  great  literary  campaign 
for  Christ.  This  at  once  emphasises  the  need  both  of 
more  missionaries  from  the  West  and  more  Orientals 
engaged  in  literary  work  in  Arabic  in  Cairo.  The 
second  fact  impressed  upon  us,  with  reiterated  force 
from  every  part  of  the  Moslem  world,  is  the  need  of 
more  trained  workers  (both  Eastern  and  Western)  to 
adequately  grapple  with  Mohammedanism  in  the 
present  generation.  We  need  an  international  train- 
ing class  for  promising  Moslem  converts,  and  other 
Oriental  Christians  who  wish  to  receive  a  special 
training  in  the  Koran,  and  how  to  preach  effectively 
to  Moslems  as  soon  as  we  receive  reinforcement.  We 
have  reason  to  believe  that  such  converts  will  come 


174  D.  M.  THORNTON 

to  Cairo,  in  time,  from  every  part  of  the  Sunni  Moslem 
world.  This  should  yield  to  us  some  Orientals  with 
linguistic  ability  from  each  Moslem  land,  and  it  is 
my  earnest  hope  and  prayer  that  before  long  Cairo 
may  become  a  Christian,  educational,  and  literary 
centre,  from  which  will  radiate  the  true  knowledge  of 
Jesus  Christ  as  Saviour  into  the  whole  Moslem  world." 

This  paper  has  taken  the  reader  a  little  beyond 
the  point  he  has  reached  in  the  chronological  account 
of  Thornton's  life  (i.e.  the  summer  of  1904),  and  it 
has  therefore  introduced  one  or  two  points  which 
cannot  be  followed  out  till  a  little  later  in  the 
narrative.  But  this  chapter,  on  "  the  Literature  Idea," 
could  not  be  concluded  without  citing  the  memor- 
andum which  crowns  the  whole. 

The  immediate  duty,  however,  the  "nexte  thynge," 
was  to  take  an  initial  practical  step,  the  publication 
of  a  periodical  which  should  also  be  the  fertile  parent 
of  literature  of  a  permanent  character.  To  this  end 
he  ran  home  for  a  few  weeks  in  the  summer  of 
1904,  in  order  to  make  arrangements  for  the  new 
publication;  and  here  the  work  he  did  was  pro- 
digious. In  Paternoster  Row  his  foot  was,  as  it 
were,  on  his  native  heath :  nothing  could  weary 
him,  and  no  detail  was  too  small  for  him.  Scores 
of  letters  testify  to  the  fact  that  he  had  thought 
out  all  the  main  lines  of  the  paper,  and  had 
worked  out  most  of  the  details  necessary  for  the 
conducting  of  it  on  those  lines.  His  passion  for  the 
work  of  God  burned  on  and  on;  it  was  burning  him 
out.  He  was  "burning  out  for  God.' 


CHAPTER  XII 
"BAIT  ARABI  PASHA" 

HOUSE-FINDING  in  Cairo  is  a  heart-breaking  business. 
Most  people  employ  for  it  a  race  of  men,  called 
in  Arabic,  simsdrs — house-agents.  But  the  greatest 
of  simsdrs  was  Thornton  himself.  He  had  already 
found  his  own  house  in  Sharia  Gamia  Sherkess  in 
1899 ;  he  had  ransacked  the  habitable  quarters  of 
Cairo  at  the  beginning  of  this  year,  and  his  know- 
ledge was  unique.  One  glance  at  a  house  and  he 
knew  (and  never  forgot)  its  direction,  the  amount 
of  "north  air"  it  got,  and  all  about  its  exterior. 
One  walk  through  it,  and  he  could  draw  a  plan 
of  its  interior.  In  rides  through  the  streets  his 
conversation  would  be  incessantly  on  the  houses  and 
the  localities,  and  he  would  throw  out  ideas  all  along 
the  way  (because  he  could  not  help  doing  so,  not 
because  there  was  any  chance  of  carrying  them  out), 
about  the  possibilities  of  work  in  those  localities. 

After  following  many  false  scents,  on  Good  Friday, 
when  things  seemed  to  be  getting  desperate,  he  was 
on  his  way  down  to  Old  Cairo  for  the  baptism  of  an 
excellent  old  peasant  convert,  when  he  chanced  to  ask 

175 


1 76  D.  M.  THORNTON 

the  doorkeeper  of  a  house  quite  near  his  own  if  it 
was  to  let.  It  happened  to  have  just  fallen  vacant ! 
After  prolonged  negotiations  with  the  Jewish  land- 
lords— some  distinctly  animated  scenes  resulting! — the 
house  was  taken,  and  Thornton  spent  most  of  his 
summer  holiday  in  getting  it  into  order  for  the  two 
families,  for  as  he  and  the  writer  of  this  book  worked 
together,  it  was  arranged  that  the  two  families  should 
reside  as  near  as  possible  to  each  other. 

He  wrote,  just  after  the  conclusion  of  the  negotia- 
tions— 

"  July  ith. 

"It  is  exactly  half  way  between  us  and  the  girls' 
school,  at  the  place  where  the  two  trams  diverge.  This 
house  lies  between  the  two,  so  that  notices  put  up 
on  either  side,  and  at  the  back,  will  be  seen  by  every 
young  man  who  goes  to  the  Ministries,  and  every 
student  as  he  goes  over  the  Bridge.  It  used  to  be 
inhabited  by  Arabi  Pasha  before  1882,  and  it  was  there 
that  he  hatched  many  of  his  plots  with  Mahmoud 
Pasha,  so  that  it  is  an  historic  place.  Since  then  it 
was  used  as  Victoria  Hospital  for  the  wounded,  and 
lived  in  by  a  Jewish  family  for  four  years.  Pray  that 
it  may  be  the  birthplace  of  many  souls.  Several  young 
fellows  have  told  us  that  if  we  had  a  religious  dis- 
cussion society  they  would  come.  This  might  have 
meetings  in  Arabic,  and  others  in  English.  In  fact,  I 
think  this  sort  of  work  will  have  to  be  carried  on 
in  both  languages.  We  shall  still  keep  on  the  work 
at  the  depot  for  the  lower  and  middle  classes,  entirely 
in  the  vernacular." 

That  the  unusual  arrangement  of  two  families  living 
in  the  same  house  (not  in  two  flats)  was  possible,  was 


"BAIT  ARABI  PASHA"  177 

due  to  the  fact  that  the  house  was  built  in  the  old 
Oriental  style.  It  was  walled  off  from  the  street,  and 
you  entered  a  gateway,  passed  through  a  porch  and 
small  garden  or  yard,  and  so  into  the  ground  floor  of 
the  house.  The  premises  on  this  floor  were  to  be 
reserved  for  the  work ;  they  consisted  of  three  rooms, 
one  a  central  hall,  large,  but  not  well  ventilated, 
through  which  every  visitor  had  to  pass,  even  when  a 
meeting  was  being  held  in  it  (or  else,  go  up  a  dark 
and  rickety  back  staircase).  The  central  hall  led  to 
the  common  staircase,  and  from  that  you  entered  the 
apartments,  which  were  so  arranged  that  one  suite 
could  be  taken  by  one  family,  and  the  other  by  the 
other.  There  were  two  front  doors,  and  about  four 
ways  of  passing  from  one  suite  to  the  other,  so  if 
proximity  and  facility  of  consultation  were  the  object, 
the  end  was  splendidly  secured! 

Such  was  the  home,  and  place  of  work,  of  Douglas 
Thornton  for  the  remainder  of  his  earthly  workdays. 
The  prince  of  simsdrs  never  had  to  find  another 
earthly  home. 

Just  one  extract  from  a  letter  of  this  summer, 
which  throws  a  white  light  upon  the  spirit  in  which 
he  did  this  intensely  trying  work  of  interviewing 
landlords,  and  employing  workmen.  And  he  had  an 
overwhelming  amount  of  this  to  do  that  summer,  for 
he  was  Acting  -  Secretary  to  the  Mission,  and  in 
addition  to  finding  "Bait  Arabi  Pasha,"  he  had 
three  girls'  schools  to  find  and  get  into  order  as  well, — 

all  in  the  heat  of  Cairo  mid-summer. 
12 


1 78  D.  M.  THORNTON 

"  Now  when  I  tell  you  that  I  have  had  six  interviews 
with  my  future  landlord,  each  lasting  on  an  average 
two  hours,  and  three  with  the  landlord  of  the  Girls' 
Boarding  School,  about  terms  and  plans  for  extension, 
of  the  same  length,  prolonged  simply  in  order  to  make 
a  hard  bargain,  and  to  save  C.M.S.  another  £1  a  month, 
or  another  £30  of  outlay  on  repairs,  you  will  get  some 
idea  of  what  wearing  work  it  all  is.  You  must  remember, 
too,  that  it  is  all  in  a  foreign  language,  and  one's  great 
desire  all  the  time  is  to  come  out  of  the  bargain  with  a 
perfectly  upright  character,  and  to  be  able  to  win  these 
landlords  for  Christ,  be  they  Jew  or  Mohammedan. 
But  I  am  thankful  to  say  that  I  have  succeeded  in 
having  spiritual  talks  with  both,  and  since  then  their 
whole  attitude  towards  me  financially  has  changed. 
The  Jew  has  bought  a  Bible  for  his  office,  to  read  at 
odd  times,  and  a  New  Testament  for  his  home. 

"The  Moslem  Bey  has  told  me  he  is  quite  open  to 
impression,  and  has  promised  to  come  to  our  meetings 
for  Beys  and  Effendis  close  by,  and  wishes  me  to  come 
and  see  him  again  in  his  house  and  talk  about  Christ. 
I  find  he  has  an  English  prayer-book,  which  he  got 
when  in  England  years  ago,  and  still  reads  the  Psalms 
every  day. 

"  I  now  must  let  you  have  a  few  amusing  incidents 
in  the  task  of  moving  house.  We  had  had  no  waggons 
(only  carriers)  from  house  to  house,  the  distance  from 
door  to  door  being  about  a  hundred  yards.  The 
eldest,  a  toothless  old  fellow,  had  just  gently  set  down 
the  wardrobe  with  the  mirror  in  our  bedroom,  which 
he  called  the  Father  of  the  Mirror,  when  I  asked  him 
his  age.  'Well,'  he  said,  'I  was  seventeen  when 
Mahomed  Ali  Pasha  died.  That  means  fifty -four  years 
ago.'  Here  was  an  old  man  carrying  on  his  back 
a  piece  of  furniture  down  seventy  steps  and  up 
thirty,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  on  the  level, 
without  f eeling  it.  '  How  do  you  keep  your  strength  ? ' 
I  said.  'Oh,'  he  said,  'you  eat  beans  (or  pulse)  and 


"BAIT  ARABI  PASHA"  179 

you'll  be  as  strong  as  me.'  '  May  be,'  said  I, '  but  fish 
and  meat  would  give  you  a  few  more  brains,'  as  I 
passed  my  hand  across  the  lines  on  his  forehead, 
marked  by  the  rope  with  which  he  supported  the 
great  wardrobe  and  the  like.  But  he  didn't  seem 
quite  convinced  even  then,  but  only  pleased  with 
himself  and  me.  However,  that's  the  way  to  influence 
these  chaps. 

"The  painter  was  late  the  day  after  I  returned 
here,  and  replied  in  answer  to  my  rebuke,  that  'his 
child  had  died  and  got  well  again/  a  common  excuse 
it  seems,  nearly  as  common  as  a  servant's,  who 
wants  to  leave  you,  and  has  an  uncle  or  aunt  to  bury 
at  once.  The  next  day  one  of  his  best  workmen  was 
absent.  Why  ?  Because  he  had  gone  to  get  his 
daughter  divorced  from  her  husband,  quite  as  a 
matter  of  course.  Her  marriage  had  been  only  a 
kind  of  experiment !  The  carpenter,  an  excellent 
and  faithful  workman,  looked  sad  the  while.  On  my 
query,  he  said  he  had  never  kept  a  wife  more  than 
three  years,  he  had  already  divorced  four  in  twelve 
years!  It  was  quite  a  new  idea  to  him  to  see  my 
wife  and  me  helping  each  other  in  the  house,  and 
he  was  most  responsive  to  talks,  and  delighted  when 
we  cured  his  cold  with  Kay's  Essence,  which  I  always 
ask  Elaine  to  give  them,  so  that  they  may  learn  to 
respect  a  woman. 

"  In  India,  the  barber  is  the  matchmaker ;  in  Egypt, 
it  is  the  hobbling  woman  with  her  clattering  'Shib- 
Shibs.'  So  there  is  little  difficulty  in  a  divorced 
woman  being  remarried.  How  strange  it  all  seems, 
and  how  corrupt  the  family  life  has  become.  The 
morals  of  the  middle  classes  are  simply  in  an  appalling 
state. 

"  Workmen  get  higher  wages  than  I  thought.  A 
good  painter  gets  three  francs  a  day,  and  a  good 
carpenter  four  francs.  Those  who  have  no  shops  go 
to  cafes,  and  then  go  out  on  hire  when  called  for,  just 


i8o  D.  M.  THORNTON 

like  the  labourers  in  the  vineyard  of  old.  But  it  is 
interesting  to  hear  them  all  say  they  can  never  trust 
a  Moslem,  and  the  Christians  make  the  best  masters 
and  sell  the  best  paint  and  wood  and  the  like.  I 
have  been  trying  to  get  them  to  understand  why  God 
gives  them  work  to  do,  but  few  can  rise  above  'in 
order  to  eat  bread.'  One  headman  got  as  far  as  'to 
get  honour,'  but  no  further." 

It  was  very  touching  to  us,  the  way  he  slaved 
equally  at  our  part  of  the  house,  we  having  been 
prevented  by  work  and  other  reasons  from  doing 
anything  like  our  fair  share  of  the  whole  tiresome 
task.  One  cannot  refrain  from  quoting  just  one 
sentence  showing  the  delicate  unselfishness  of  the 
man — 

"It  has  been,  I  may  say,  the  heaviest  responsibility 
I  have  had  to  bear  this  summer,  during  those  long 
negotiations,  the  task  of  providing  a  resting-place 
(Psalm  Ixxxiv.  3).  And  it  was  a  relief  as  great 
to  me  as  to  you  when  it  was  found.  May  you 
both  have  health  and  strength  in  your  first  home ! " 

Both  families  had  settled  in  the  new  premises  by 
October;  but  before  beginning  the  autumn  work 
Thornton  wisely  took  the  holiday  he  had  failed  to 
get  in  the  summer,  and  went  off  for  a  short  time  to 
Athens  and  Constantinople.  Lying  off  Piraeus  in 
quarantine,  "in  sight  of  Athens  and  Eleusis,"  he 
very  characteristically  writes — 

"I  hope  to  get  a  new  insight  into  the  Pauline 
Epistles,  if  we  can  manage  what  we  have  in  view. 
It  is  an  excellent  opportunity  for  reflection  on  the 


"BAIT  ARABI  PASHA"  181 

very  threshold  of  new  and  untried  work.  And  as 
for  reading  and  correspondence  I  have  never  had 
such  an  opportunity  for  over  two  years.  We  are 
reading  the  whole  history  of  Greece,  ancient,  mediseval, 
and  modern  together,  to  our  great  profit.  And  I 
feel  that  after  this  trip,  if  we  can  return  vid  the 
Seven  Churches,  half  the  New  Testament  will  be  a 
new  book  to  me." 

"The  work"  indeed  was  the  thing  entirely  upper- 
most in  his  mind,  and  wove  itself  into  the  glories  of 
Athens  and  Stamboul,  which  he  appreciated  to  the 
full.  He  exclaims  that  he  "never  felt  so  in  touch 
with  the  past,"  as  he  did  when  he  sat  in  the  same 
marble  seat,  "  with  a  most  comfortable  rounded  marble 
back  (by  the  way),"  on  which  the  Archon  Basileus, 
whose  name  is  carved  on  the  back  of  the  chair,  had  sat ; 
or  studied  the  acoustic  properties  of  the  Odeum ;  or 
stood  on  Demosthenes'  Bema, — to  have  done  which  "  was 

as  if  one  had  scored  a  point  off  Old  D ,  who  kept 

me  in  at  twelve,  and  brought  me  down  to  his  house 
more  than  once  in  the  Middle  Fifth  at  Marlborough, 
in  order  to  translate  the  Philippics  !  "  Of  the  Acropolis 
he  makes  the  characteristic  remark  that  the  view  from 
it  must  have  had  a  profound  effect  "  in  making  Pericles 
and  Demosthenes  aspire  to  make  and  preserve  Athens 
a  power  in  the  world.  .  .  ." 

But,  of  course,  to  a  Bible  student,  to  read  Acts  xvii. 
22-34  on  the  hill  of  Ares  was  still  more  impressive. 

"And  as  one  cast  one's  eye  over  the  site  of  the 
ancient  '  agora,'  and  round  at  the  hills  and  isles  beyond, 
away  across  the  water  and  back  at  the  citadel,  with  its 


1 82  D.  M.  THORNTON 

heathen  shrines,  and  its  worship  of  the  woman  '  Athene,' 
one  could  not  but  dwell  on  the  greatness  of  Paul's 
mind,  the  marvellous  penetration  of  his  intellect,  and 
the  wonderful  anticipatory  power  of  his  faith,  as  he 
unfolded  to  his  audience  the  unity  of  the  human  race, 
the  fatherhood  of  God,  the  dispensation  of  the  Man 
Christ  Jesus,  and  the  fact  of  the  resurrection  from  the 
dead.  Could  there  have  been  a  more  ideal  spot  for 
such  an  address  ?  And  can  anything  after  all  vie  in  im- 
portance with  that  visit  of  Paul  to  Greece,  leading  him 
as  it  did  to  the  intellectual  centre  of  the  West,  whence 
he  obtained  half  his  education  through  Gamaliel.  May 
it  not  have  been  here  that  he  gained  the  vision  of  the 
conquest  of  the  western  world  for  Christ  ?  Certainly  he 
took  immediate  steps  towards  it  by  settling  in  com- 
mercial Corinth  so  soon  afterwards  for  so  long  a  time." 

From  Athens  to  Constantinople — 

"  These  are  the  walls  that  kept  at  bay  the  Goths,  the 
Huns,  the  Tartars,  and  the  Turks  for  centuries.  These 
marvellous  monuments  of  Eoman  strength  may  be  said 
to  have  saved  the  Byzantine  Empire  from  destruction 
until  Western  and  Northern  Europe  was  ready  to  hand 
on  the  torch  of  learning  to  the  world.  Truly,  one  is 
profoundly  impressed  at  their  sight.  Along  the  water's 
edge  can  be  seen  traces  of  the  ancient  seawalls,  but  it  is 
the  mosques  that  tower  above  which  fascinate  the  eye 
and  evoke  a  chorus  of  praise  and  wonder  from  the 
passengers.  The  windows  round  the  domes  have 
caught  the  light  of  the  setting  sun  and  are  all  ablaze. 
The  muezzin  is  calling  out  '  God  is  great '  from  the 
parapet  of  the  minaret.  The  two,  four,  and  even  six 
minarets  to  the  various  massive  mosques  pierce  their 
arrow-like  heads  into  the  sky.  Was  there  ever  such  a 
wondrous  sight  as  this  ?  The  wealth  of  buildings,  the 
richness  of  colour,  the  variety  of  scenery,  as  the 
Bosphorus  opens  out  beyond,  the  ubiquity  of  the 
small  craft,  the  majestic  sweep  of  the  Golden  Horn 


"BAIT  ARABI  PASHA"  183 

(i.e.  the  river  round  the  corner  on  the  northern  side  of 
Stamboul,  separating  it  from  Galata,  the  commercial 
harbour  opposite  on  the  European  side),  the  mass  of 
human  beings  on  the  bridge,  the  extraordinary  cosmo- 
politan character  of  the  inhabitants  (coming  as  they 
do  from  Central  Asia,  Central  Africa,  and  Central 
Europe),  all  these  things  make  a  riveting  picture, 
which  can  never  be  forgotten  in  a  lifetime." 

The  "Salamlik,"  the  weekly  progress  of  the  Sultan 
to  Friday  prayers,  made  a  prodigious  impression  on 
him,  and  he  declared  that  that,  and  not  the  Concert 
of  Europe,  was  the  sort  of  thing  that  held  Turkey 
together.  The  intoning  of  the  leader  at  the  midday 
prayer  in  San  Sophia  also  astonished  him  greatly. 
The  fact  that  it,  like  other  of  the  great  mosques  in 
Stamboul,  were  originally  Christian  Churches  of  the 
Byzantine  Empire,  distressed  him.  Of  course,  he  spoke 
for  Christ — undeterred  by  environment.  It  was  either 
there,  or  in  the  once  Christian  church,  now  Moslem 
mosque,  at  Damascus,  that  he  actually  preached  Christ 
to  his  Moslem  guide  on  the  top  of  the  minaret ! — of 
course,  with  nothing  but  good  results. 

It  is  not  possible  to  linger  over  his  fascinating 
descriptions  of  Constantinople,  the  best  he  ever 
wrote.  But  two  letters  which  he  wrote  from  the 
Bay  of  Salamis  must  not  be  omitted,  owing  to  their 
special  importance.  Not  only  are  they  important  in 
themselves,  but  they  show  very  vividly  the  way  his 
mind  worked,  and  how  powerful  would  his  voice  still 
have  been  were  he  working  in  the  home  field. 

First,  a  personal  thought — 


1 84  D.  M.  THORNTON 

"...  We,  all  of  us,  need  to  learn  the  lessons  of 
the  Incarnation  and  the  Cross  deeper  and  deeper  by 
contact  with  the  poor  and  suffering,  if  our  own  life  is 
to  grow  more  like  the  Master's.  For  myself,  I  do  thank 
God  that  He  is  leading  me  to  see  the  motive  power  in 
the  death  of  our  Blessed  Lord,  and  so  to  make  His  con- 
descension and  His  utter  humiliation  the  secret  of  one's 
life." 

Then  he  comes  to  the  subject  that  was  particularly 
on  his  mind — 

[To  THE  REV.  G.  T.  MANLEY.] 

"Now  for  a  few  thoughts  upon  the  battle — not  of 
Salamis,  but  of  Christ  and  His  followers.  I  am  feeling 
more  than  ever  the  need  of  picked  men  (hoplites,  heavily 
armed)  for  the  fray.  I  do  think  that  we  need  a  tremend- 
ously concentrated  attack  upon  the  ability  of  the  United 
Kingdom.  It  is  far  more  important  to  have  highly 
educated  men  than  women.  Women  of  all  kinds  are 
needed,  and  in  far  greater  numbers,  but  it  is  picked 
men  only  we  need,  both  for  pioneer  and  for  established 
missions.  But  it  is  exactly  the  picked  men  who  think 
they  must  stay  at  home.  And  they  fill  the  religious 
magazines  or  the  reviews  with  their  superfluous  energy 
and  knowledge,  instead  of  diffusing  it  and  applying  it 
throughout  the  world.  Now  the  teaching  profession,  at 
anyrate,  is  not  so  well  paid  that  it  can  hold  back  very 
many,  if  they  saw  the  opportunity  of  using  their  talents 
to  the  full. 

"  What  I  propose  then  for  you,  is  to  forego  for  a  time 
your  campaign  among  the  clergy,  and  to  concentrate 
upon  personal  interviews  and  talks  with  groups  of  picked 
students  everywhere,  both  in  the  'varsities,  colleges,  and 
sixth  forms  of  public  schools.  Do  not  forget  also  the 
army  classes  at  various  schools  either.  Try  and  enlist 
each  headmaster  upon  your  side,  by  asking  leave  to  stay 
with  him  and  talk  the  matter  over  as  a  vocation  for 


"BAIT  ARABI  PASHA"  185 

boys.  So,  too,  with  dons  and  deans  of  colleges,  impress 
them  with  the  sort  of  men  that  the  campaign  now 
needs. 

"In  order  to  do  this  effectually,  you  will  have  to 
make  a  careful  enquiry  from  C.M.S.,  S.P.G.,  and  other 
educational  societies,  exactly  what  openings  there  are 
for  educational  and  for  linguistic  work  in  the  next  five 
years,  and  then  your  appeals  will  be  direct,  pointed, 
personal.  I  am  coming  more  and  more  to  believe  in 
such  appeals  for  special  work.  Do  think  this  matter 
over.  Abandon  the  idea  of  the  great  Conference.  It 
is  on  the  wrong  tack,  I  am  sure.  The  work  of  winning 
one  at  a  time  will  pay  better  in  the  end. 

"  I  think  that  the  C.M.S.  should  utilise  its  men  before 
they  go  out,  and  on  furlough,  when  they  are  specialists, 
for  the  special  object  of  increasing  the  number  of  offers 
of  like  men  much  more  than  they  do ;  e.g.  a  home  clergy- 
man who  has  worked  C.M.S.  successfully  in  his  parish, 
and  who  is  going  out,  should  be  enlisted  to  stir  up  other 
successful  clergy  as  well.  He  can  speak  with  so  much 
more  authority  to  his  fellow-clergy.  The  secret  of  Canon 
Flynn's  appeals  are  because  he  knows  where  he  can  get 
the  wedge  into  an  overworked  parson.  How  much 
greater  would  be  his  influence  if  he  were  on  the  way 
to  the  field !  It  is  impossible  for  you  or  him  to  speak 
with  such  sympathy,  isn't  it?  But  you  can  speak  to 
scholars  and  others  in  the  scholastic  profession  with  quite 
peculiar  force,  sympathetic,  authoritative,  and  final.  That 
is  my  point.  So  can  a  doctor  to  doctors,  etc.  etc. 

"  I  propose  then  to  write  an  article  to  the  C.M.S.  from 
here,  entitled  '  Wanted  Specialists :  A  Word  to  Men,' 
bearing  on  this  point.  It  seems  to  be  the  unanimous 
opinion  of  senior  missionaries  that  I  have  met  that,  as 
missions  get  more  and  more  into  a  developed  state,  the 
demand  comes  for  specialists  on  some  line, — medical, 
industrial,  educational,  linguistic,  or  else  for  native 
agents  only.  The  English  woman  of  ordinary  educa- 
tion is  so  far  in  advance  of  her  Eastern  sisters  that 


1 86  D.  M.  THORNTON 

she  can  be  of  great  use,  simply  by  virtue  of  her  innate 
superiority.  Not  so  the  man,  for  he  meets  with  people 
more  than  his  match  everywhere,  and,  unless  he  have 
some  title  to  respect,  I  hold  he  would  much  better  be  out 
in  his  proper  calling,  where  he  will  earn  for  his  Master 
a  good  name.  Every  year  I  get  keener  and  keener 
on  the  desire  to  raise  the  whole  missionary  question 
above  the  plane  of  the  limited  operations  of  a  mission- 
ary society,  and  to  educate  Christians  at  home  to  look 
upon  their  own  calling  as  the  one  in  which  they  are  to 
glorify  God.  We  had  much  better  follow  the  line  of 
Paul  and  Priscilla  if  we  have  not  received  special  train- 
ing for  special  work.  I  do  wish  our  British  Missionary 
Society  secretaries  would  think  this  matter  out." 

These  are  really  weighty  words,  and  they  deserve  to 
be  weighed  and  their  force  realised.  He  is  full  of  the 
subject,  for  on  the  very  next  day  he  opens  fire  again 
to  another  friend,  also  in  a  post  of  great  importance 
in  the  work  at  home — 

"  The  plain  facts  are  these,  that  every  old-established 
mission  must  have  '  specialists '  for  its  work,  i.e.,  men 
must  either  be  able  to  teach,  heal,  or  preach.  In  order  to  do 
this  they  must  be  specially  prepared,  or  else  have  special 
gifts.  A  good  native  agent  is  worth  five  times  as  much 
as  a  'mediocre  missionary  at  half  or  a  third  his  salary. 
So,  too,  pioneer  missions  do  need  exceptional  men,  either 
men  who  can  teach  themselves  a  new  language  or 
initiate  new  work.  Now,  are  we  encouraging  volunteers 
to  become  specialists  ? 

"  I  think  it  is  impossible  for  you  at  home  to  see  this 
question  as  we  see  it.  I  assure  you  with  all  the  convic- 
tion that  I  possess,  that  numbers  in  the  mission  field 
counts  for  very  little,  character  goes  for  everything, 
attainments  come  next,  just  because  so  many  are  requi- 
site or  called  for.  Nondescripts  are  almost  a  nuisance. 


"BAIT  ARABI  PASHA"  187 

"  I  think  my  subject  can  be  summed  up  under  the  title, 
'  Wanted  Specialists :  A  Word  to  Men.'  The  same  does 
not  apply  to  women  in  the  same  way,  because  any 
English  lady  is  more  than  a  match  for  her  Eastern 
sister. 

"  Of  course  this  brings  me  round  again  to  my  other  con- 
viction that  a  '  missionary '  is  not  a  delegate  of  a  society 
only,  but  any  Christian  in  any  occupation  sent  out  to 
non-Christian  lands.  And  I  wish  I  saw  my  way  to 
raising  the  whole  missionary  question  out  of  the  narrow 
lines  of  the  society  or  board,  and  getting  the  vocation 
attached  to  every  Christian  emigrant.  The  full-blown 
missionary  sent  by  a  society  will  always  remain  the 
delegate  of  the  home  churches.  But  every  Christian 
should  be  an  emissary.  But  I  suppose  until  we  learn  to 
see  that  every  Christian  occupation  is  consecrated  and 
holy,  and  a  sphere  in  which  to  glorify  God,  and  a 
means  by  which  to  get  at  men,  we  shall  never  attain 
this  end.  And  this  needs  to  be  taught  to  the  home 
churches  first. 

"  But  a  preliminary  to  teaching  this  ideal  seems  to  me 
to  be  the  emphasizing  that  the  missionary  call  is  a  call 
to  specialization,  just  as  preparation  for  a  tripos  is  a 
call  to  specialization.  Then  if  X  says  he  can  only  irri- 
gate, or  engineer,  or  build  factories,  or  codify  laws  or 
administer  finances,  etc.,  the  Church  to  which  he  belongs 
should  dismiss  him  to  some  such  work,  as  well  as  the 
firm  which  sends  him.  This  will  broaden  the  whole 
missionary  question,  will  provide  points  of  contact  with 
every  class  of  every  community  in  every  land,  and  will 
not  only  relieve  the  finances  of  societies  at  home,  but 
will  secure  them  more  adequate  support  abroad.  Cannot 
the  S.V.M.U.  take  up  the  task?  If  not,  some  other 
body  must  be  raised  up  to  do  the  same.  I  am  too 
growingly  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  the  thing  at 
this  stage  in  missionary  operations  to  let  the  matter 
drop." 


1 88  D.  M.  THORNTON 

He  felt  that  the  Student  Volunteer  Missionary  Union, 
if  any,  should  do  this  work  and  he  emphasised  the 
advisability  of  its  employing,  as  travelling  secretaries, 
men  who  could  reach  these  "  specialists,"  that  is,  men  who 
had  had  an  experience  of  the  field ;  very  much  as  he 
had  urged  on  the  Church  Missionary  Society  not  to 
leave  the  task  of  actual  recruiting  to  their  home  staff, 
but  to  use  also  the  returned  missionary  who  could  say 
exactly  who  and  what  was  wanted,  and  therefore  could 
make  the  strongest  appeal. 

Such  were  the  thoughts  with  which  he  returned  to 
Cairo,  in  time  for  what  he  always  called  a  "  campaign," 
at  the  time  of  the  Moslem  and  Christian  feasts,  and  to 
work  out  one  more  of  the  methods  which  (it  will  be 
remembered)  he  had  anticipated  in  his  first  five 
months  in  Egypt. 

A  double  series  of  meetings  were  planned  for  the  new 
premises ;  one  of  these  was  in  English  and  Arabic,  and 
was  of  a  general  character ;  this  was  especially  to  suit 
the  young  "effendis"  or  English-speaking  Egyptians;  and 
the  second  in  Arabic  only,  evangelistic  meetings  specially 
for  Azhar  men.  Both  series  were  soon  made  "  open,"  that 
is,  the  audience  were  invited  to  express  their  opinions 
on  the  various  topics.  In  the  case  of  the  religious  meet- 
ings, this  could  only  lead  to  one  result — controversy, 
sometimes  of  a  particularly  "  animated  "  nature. 

The  general  meetings  were  advertised  regularly  through 
the  press,  and  were  a  success  from  the  start.  The  sub- 
jects chosen  were  very  various :  purely  ethical,  such  as — 
"The  Basis  and  Possibilities  of  Character";  historical,  such 


"BAIT  ARABI  PASHA"  189 

as,  "  The  Influence  of  East  on  West  and  West  on  East," 
"The  Messages  of  Egypt,  Greece,  Rome,  England  to 
the  World  "  ;  scientific,  such  as,  "  The  Theory  of  Evolu- 
tion," "  Alcohol  and  Health  " ;  or  social  (and  these  were 
the  most  popular  of  all),  such  as,  "  National  Greatness," 
"Education  of  Girls,"  "National  Unity,"  and  so  forth. 

On  all  of  these  subjects  the  young  men,  who 
came  from  the  School  of  Law,  and  others  of  the 
best  schools  in  Cairo,  contributed  to  the  debates  in 
the  most  unreserved  way.  All  of  this  was  of  incal- 
culable importance  in  bringing  about  mutual  contact, 
understanding  and  confidence.  Like  all  young  men 
when  debating  together,  they  said  exactly  what  they 
meant,  and  thus  Thornton  was  enabled  to  learn  their 
thoughts  in  a  perfectly  new  way  :  and  all  knowledge 
he  had  he  invariably  used. 

Once  he  organised  a  series  of  meetings  on  purity 
and  chastity.  To  these  also  large  numbers  came, 
and  at  the  discussions  afterwards  great  was  the  light 
obtained  as  to  the  individual  and  social  moral  diffi- 
culties of  the  nation. 

Social  subjects,  of  course,  often  approximate  to 
political  and  national  subjects,  and  somewhat  free 
things  were  often  said  by  young  and  ardent  Egyptians 
from  the  Bait  Arabi  platform !  But  it  was  generally 
possible  to  keep  things  within  bounds,  and  the  very 
fact  that  such  proceedings  impressed  the  men  with 
ideals  of  impartiality,  and  mutual  respect,  and  freedom 
in  discourse  was  itself  a  moral  result. 

Thornton  was,  in    fact,   in   the    best   sense,   a   pro- 


190  D.  M.  THORNTON 

Egyptian  and  pro-Nationalist;  that  is  to  say,  he, 
without  meddling  in  the  least  with  the  politics  or 
parties  of  the  day,  took  up  the  broad  line  of  sym- 
pathising with  the  aspirations  of  the  nation  to  be 
one,  and  to  be,  in  short,  a  nation.  As  this  end  is 
professed,  not  only  by  the  "  Nationalists,"  but  also 
by  the  Occupation  and  the  past  and  present  British 
Consul-Generals,  and  moreover  (as  in  India)  commends 
itself  to  the  sense  of  all  the  best  men,  he  was 
perfectly  safe  in  professing  it  himself.  It  is,  of 
course,  in  practical  politics,  which  are  entirely  taken 
up  with  the  question  of  means  and  methods,  times 
and  occasions,  that  the  rub  comes,  and  with  all  this, 
of  course,  Thornton,  like  every  wise  missionary,  had 
nothing  to  do.  He  stood  quite  clear  of  it,  and 
devoted  himself  to  the  proper  task  of  the  Christian 
missionary,  that  of  strengthening  the  moral  fibre  of  the 
nation  and  working  for  moral  freedom,  independence, 
and  self-government,  without  which  their  political 
counterparts,  if  attained,  might  prove  more  curse  than 
blessing. 

In  fact,  he  was  independently  led  to  take  up  the 
same  mental  attitude  of  sympathy,  which  is  more  and 
more  commending  itself  to  the  present  generation  of 
missionaries  in  India.  And  who  can  estimate  the 
enormous  value  of  this  sympathy  on  the  part  of 
missionaries,  or  their  influence,  as  factors  of  unity 
and  reciprocal  understanding,  between  the  antithetic 
elements  of  the  strange  Anglo-Oriental  world  which 
the  events  of  two  centuries  have,  in  the  providence 


"BAIT  ARABI  PASHA"  191 

of  God,  created  ?  It  is  the  missionary  who,  par 
excellence,  knows  the  language,  and  so  the  heart 
of  the  nation.  It  may  well  be  that,  reversing  the 
orthodox  Foreign  Office  doctrine,  he  is  the  one  element 
which  really  makes  for  not  a  sword,  but  peace. 

As  this  subject  has  quite  lately  assumed  such  special 
importance,1  a  few  extracts,  showing  Thornton's  ideas 
on  the  subject  when  it  was  far  less  prominent,  will 
assuredly  be  of  interest. 

"  We  have  now  begun  a  series  on  '  national  questions ' 
for  January,  which  is  bringing  some  of  the  ablest 
Moslem  students  into  the  city  to  us.  Last  night  we  had 
the  highest  flood  of  oratory  and  Arabic  poetry  that  I 
have  ever  listened  to,  after  an  appeal  to  eighty  men  to 
study  the  ancient  history  of  Egypt,  an  appeal  written 
for  us  by  Professor  Sayce.  Think  of  it.  Is  there  any 
parallel  elsewhere  in  the  mission  field  to  two  English 
clergy  holding  meetings  in  their  own  house  attended 
by  non-Christians  of  high  education  and  intelligence,  at 
which  the  spirit  of  true  patriotism  is  encouraged  and 
developed  ?  You  expect  Mrs.  Besaiit  to  do  this  in  Hindu 
audiences,  but  do  you  ever  hear  of  animated  meetings 
freely  taking  place  in  the  vernacular  in  the  house  of 
foreigners,  much  less  foreign  clergy,  and  Christians  to 
boot  ?  I  am  amazed  myself  when  I  reflect  upon  it,  but 
it  is  true.  It  actually  happens  week  by  week.  We  are 
making  fast  friendship  with  the  future  leaders  of  the 
land,  both  Copts  and  Moslems/  Who  can  calculate  the 
result  ? " 

The  late  Mustafa  Pasha  Kernel's  organ,  El  Lewa, 
in  a  rare  moment  of  acquiescence,  once  commented 
on  these  meetings,  dwelling  on  their  being  held  by 

1  See,  for  example,  the  late  Bishop  of  Bombay's  article  in  the  January 
number  of  East  and  West,  1908. 


1 92  D.  M.  THORNTON 

Englishmen,  and  in  Arabi's  old  house ;  and  on  the 
symbolic  fact  that  that  house  was  just  half-way 
between  the  Khedive's  palace  and  the  British  Agency, 
as  though  interpreting  Egypt  to  England  and  vice  versa. 

[To  THE  BISHOP  OF  DUBHAM.]  "  Feb.  2,  1906. 

"...  arrived  here  at  about  7.45  this  evening,  just  in 
the  middle  of  our  Friday  evening  meeting  for  effendis. 
We  had  a  specially  large  number,  and  a  most  helpful 
and  encouraging  time.  I  had  been  speaking  about  the 
lessons  which  Egyptians  can  learn  from  the  early 
history  of  England,  what  real  progress  England  made 
even  though  subject  to  foreign  rule — Dane,  Norman, 
etc.,  both  in  education  and  religion,  and  in  the  end  in 
freedom  also  —  at  Runnymede,  when  they  were  suffi- 
ciently united  to  be  independent.  Then  I  summed  up 
the  case  and  applied  it  to  Egypt. 

"  The  debate  was  most  profitable.  It  drew  from  an 
enlightened  Egyptian  sheikh  that  the  British  Occupation 
had  in  no  way  injured  the  Moslem  religion,  but  that 
their  backwardness  was  their  own  fault.  Educated 
Moslems  and  Christians  took  helpful  parts  in  the  debate 
(all  in  Arabic),  and  G.  led  the  meeting  well.  All  old- 
comers  went  away  sobered  and  full  of  deep  resolves, 
while  new-comers  had  some  of  their  hatred  to  England 
and  Christianity  removed.  Truly  this  is  the  shortest 
cut  in  the  end  to  the  Egyptian's  heart. 

"As  this  reaches  you,  we  shall  probably  be  holding 
our  continuation  meeting  next  Friday  evening,  when 
I  finish  the  subject  by  taking  the  lessons  of  the  Reform- 
ation. It  is  so  good  for  us  to  have  to  do  the  necessary 
reading  for  these  papers  and  addresses,  just  as  it  is  to 
have  to  write  Bible  talks  every  other  week  for  the 
paper !  We  are  just  now  engaged  on  the  Life  of  our 
Blessed  Lord  from  the  Annunciation  to  the  Call  of  the 
Disciples.  Then  we  shall  (D.V.)  bind  this  up  with  the 
story  of  the  Cross,  Death  and  Resurrection,  Ascension 


"BAIT  ARABI  PASHA'1  193 

and  Pentecost,  which  we  printed  last  Easter,  so  as  to 
form  an  illustrated  book  of  50-60  pages. 

"  Do  you  not  think  that  perhaps  we  missionaries 
have  not  done  enough  to  throw  our  weight  into  all 
that  is  good  in  the  native  life  of  the  races  to  which 
we  are  sent  ?  At  anyrate  we  have  felt  led  this  year 
to  take  the  part  that  Anselm  and  Lanfranc  did  of  old, 
though  foreigners ;  and  are  we  not  following  in  Aidan's 
steps  as  well  ?  I  see  quite  clearly  that  in  proportion  as 
we  do  side,  where  it  is  right  and  lawful  to  do  so,  with 
national  aspirations,  that  we  cultivate  friendship,  remove 
misunderstandings,  and  are  resorted  to  as  counsellors; 
and  so  it  seems  to  me  that  it  must  be  right  to  take 
this  line. 

"  It  is  no  new  policy.  It  was  adapted  by  foreigners 
like  Lanfranc,  and  Anselm,  and  Aidan  in  England  with 
great  success.  And  it  is  certainly  having  great  results 
here.  I  wonder  why  Anglo-Indian  missionaries  do  not 
do  more  in  this  line.  I  think  it  would  be  the  very  best 
way  to  undermine  Mrs.  Besant's  influence,  besides 
winning  the  young  generation  of  Hindus.  I  commend 
it  to  you  for  your  earnest  thought,  and  pray  that  you 
may  be  enabled  to  usher  in  a  new  era  into  Indian 
Mission  work.  This  new  Native  Missionary  Society  is 
splendid.  Back  it  up  for  all  you  know." 

In  these  and  other  ways  the  beauty  of  the  Christian 
fruit  could  be  shown,  without  actual  mention  of  the 
root.  "  In  this  way,"  he  wrote,  "  Moslems  are  uncon- 
sciously absorbing  principles  that  are  in  reality 
Christian,  and  often  most  un-Moslem,  the  result  of 
which  must  be  made  manifest  sooner  or  later." 

More  than  once  these  meetings  were  the  cause, 
direct  or  indirect,  of  promoting  or  encouraging  enter- 
prises on  the  part  of  the  Egyptian  young  men  them- 
selves, such  as  the  formation  of  societies  or  clubs. 
13 


194  D.  M.  THORNTON 

Thornton  always  claimed  that  such  effects  should  be 
reckoned  as  missionary  fruit  in  a  real  and  direct 
sense. 

"A  most  interesting  development  of  our  Friday 
meetings  has  been  the  request  by  several  Law  students 
(who  are  the  pick  of  the  country)  to  allow  them  to  start 
a  Social  Union  and  hold  the  meetings  in  our  house. 
After  the  summer  they  hope  to  enlarge  its  scope,  and 
include  Medical  and  Polytechnic  students  as  well — in 
fact  all  students  who  hold  the  Government  Diploma 
(equivalent  to  the  Oxford  and  Cambridge  Public  School 
Certificate).  Will  you  pray  for  these  young  men  ?  Will 
you  ask  that  this  may  lead  on  to  a  Students'  Christian 
Association  later  on  ?  And  will  you  not  put  in  your 
plea  for  reinforcements  for  this  growing  work  ? " 

And  this,  again,  led  to  visiting  other  societies  of 
young  Egyptians,  and  attending  the  meetings  of 
those  societies.  The  time  was  one  of  intellectual  and 
social  ferment  among  the  youth  of  Cairo;  and  noth- 
ing showed  the  versatility  of  Thornton  more  than 
the  way  he  was  always  finding  out  what  was  going 
on,  the  meetings  that  were  being  held,  and  the 
societies  that  were  being  formed ;  the  way  with  which 
he  boldly  introduced  himself  into  those  societies,  and 
the  tact,  born  of  real  sympathy,  by  which  he  made 
himself  acceptable  at  these  meetings.  He  would 
counsel  their  executive  committees,  present  books 
to  their  libraries,  and  address  their  assemblies.  He 
used  to  say,  "  We  are  far  too  backward " ;  and  so, 
assuming  that  he  would  be  welcomed,  he  was 
welcomed.  He  used  to  consider  the  work  done  in 


"BAIT  ARABI  PASHA"  195 

visiting  such  outside  societies  at  least  as  valuable  as 
the  holding  of  meetings  on  his  own  premises.  In 
this  way  he  became  a  well-known  character  in  Cairo, 
and  greatly  extended  his  influence  amongst  the  rising 
generation.  Thus  he  wrote,  in  1905 — 

"  It  may  be  that  we  shall  only  hold  the  Friday  even- 
ing meetings  once  a  month  this  year,  now  that  we  have 
at  least  two  other  weekly  meetings  of  students  that  we 
are  asked  occasionally  to  attend.  I  want  to  be  freer  to 
attend  these  native  gatherings,  both  of  Copts,  Moslems, 
and  both,  because  then  one  can  invite  other  students 
who  never  come  near  us  to  our  meetings  by  this 
means.  It  seems  to  me  that  we  may  be  able  to  do  a 
great  deal  of  good  in  this  way,  by  attending  the  meet- 
ings of  the  various  societies  of  young  men  in  Cairo, 
which  aim  at  doing  them  good." 


He  was  especially  keen  in  helping  Coptic  students, 
and  he  was  able  in  various  ways  to  be  of  service  to 
them.  Sometimes  they  would  hold  their  emergency 
meetings  at  Bait  Arabi  Pasha,  and  on  these  occasions 
he  would  attend  and  give  valuable  advice,  and  help 
to  still  the  effervescence  of  some  of  the  excitables 
into  calmness  and  reasonableness.  Several  of  their 
best  men  became  his  greatest  personal  friends,  and 
on  those  his  character  made  an  impression  that  has 
proved  very  deep  indeed.  He  looked  forward  to  the 
time  when  there  would  be  a  Christian  Union  among 
the  Christian  students  of  the  Higher  Colleges,  just 
as  in  the  similar  colleges  of  Britain.  Any  manifest- 
ation of  confidence  and  trust  on  the  part  of  these 


i96  D.  M.  THORNTON 

men   caused    him   intense    pleasure.      After   one   such 
manifestation  he  writes — 

"  It  demonstrates  to  me  that  they,  too,  recognise  that  we 
are  their  friends,  and  really  have  learnt  their  language 
in  order  to  help  them  to  put  new  life  into  their  vener- 
able, but  sadly  torn,  Coptic  Church.  I  see  a  real  hope 
now  of  starting  Bible  Circles  in  each  of  the  Government 
Schools  before  long,  and  in  combining,  or  rather  helping 
them  to  combine,  the  Coptic  students  into  a  Christian 
Union  in  Cairo.  So  that  we  shall  then  have  a  counter- 
part of  the  Union  and  the  Christian  Union,  and  all 
started  on  the  initiative  of  the  students  themselves." 

This  commingling  with  the  Moslem  and  Coptic  youth 
of  Cairo  naturally  resulted  in  many  personal  interviews. 
For  these  he  was  ever  ready,  even  at  whatever  the 
hour,  and  however  much  they  wrecked  the  domestic 
programme  of  meals.  Here  is  his  account  of  one  such 
interview — and  of  the  events  of  one  afternoon  and 
evening  that  were  somewhat  typical  of  that  period — 

"  I  have  just  had  another  interview  with  one  of  the 
ablest  intellects  and  noblest  minds  in  this  land  for 
two  and  a  half  hours.  With  him  and  his  friend,  both 
young  doctors  trained  by  the  Government  School,  I 
have  had  to  spend  eleven  hours  alone  in  three  inter- 
views,— work  of  the  hardest  and  highest  and  most 
important  kind.  Here  are  two  men  who  will  either 
become  reformers  of  Islam,  as  Rammohun  Roy  was 
of  Hinduism  by  starting  the  Brahmo-Somaj,  or  they 
will  end  up  in  the  fold  of  the  Christian  Church, 
becoming  pillars  of  the  faith.  Such  work  here  is 
open  to  as  many  as  can  be  spared  to  do  it,  and  for 
as  much  time  and  energy  and  ability  as  can  be 
expended.  They  are  minds  who  will  influence  tens 
of  thousands  later  on.  They  are  writers  and  teachers 


"BAIT  ARABI  PASHA"  197 

of  others  already.  And  yet,  with  a  hundred  such  ready 
for  personal  interviews,  I  have  to  spend  ten  hours 
doing  what  Mr.  Hardman1  can  do  in  two,  and  much 
better  than  I  can.  However,  God  knows.  He  alone 
can  give  the  strength  and  help  that  is  needed. 

"March  Wth,  Saturday. —  Events  here  are  moving 
faster  and  faster. 

"The  able  young  doctor  came  again  yesterday  at 
3.30  p.m.  to  finish  considering  the  evidence  for  the 
Crucifixion,  and  weigh  it  against  the  Koran  and  heretical 
books.  Then,  from  5  to  7  p.m.,  a  vernacular  conversa- 
tion with  young  representatives  of  law,  medical,  and 
theological  students,  at  which  the  principles  of  the  new 
society,  to  be  called  '  The  Society  of  National  Unity,' 
were  finally  decided  upon.  Then  came  the  EiFendi 
meeting,  from  7.15  to  9  p.m.  (also  in  the  vernacular), 
with  a  most  stirring  and  exciting  debate,  in  which  a 
Coptic  theological  professor  and  a  pervert  from  the 
Coptic  Church  to  a  sort  of  Puritan  Islam  took  a 
leading  part,  at  the  end  of  which  a  Sheikh  came  up 
to  the  Moslem  medical  student  in  the  chair  and  said, 
'  You  are  a  Christian  ! '  Do  you  wonder  that  I  was  not 
up  to  breakfast  this  morning  ?" 

If  the  description  of  the  young  Moslem  doctor  seems 
rather  too  sanguine  (a  characteristic  of  his  writing 
which  may  have  struck  the  reader  already),  it  is  due 
to  the  intensely  sanguine  nature  of  the  man,  and  his 
readiness  to  see  possibilities.  If  this  is  a  fault,  it  may 
be  said  emphatically  that  it  is  a  fault  on  the  right  side. 
To  overestimate  possibilities  is  altogether  a  safer  defect 
to  possess,  than  not  to  be  conscious  of  them  at  all,  or 
even  to  be  slow  in  recognising  them.  It  is  better  to  see 
the  Vision  through  a  magnifying  glass — even  though  its 

1  The  missionary  business-man,  who  he  hoped  would  join  him  about  this 
time. 


1 98  D.  M.  THORNTON 

edges  thus  get  rather  distorted  and  out  of  focus, — than 
not  to  see  it  at  all. 

The  religious  meetings  at  Bait  Arabi  Pasha  were 
often  exciting  times.  Here  is  his  description  of  one 
of  the  best  of  them — 

"  We  have  just  had  a  most  interesting  week.  It  is  the 
feast  of  the  '  Slaying  of  the  Victim '  with  the  Moslems, 
from  Friday  to  Tuesday  last.  Maclnnes  gave  an  account 
of  '  Gordon  and  the  Siege  of  Khartoum '  at  our  Friday 
meeting.  As  it  was  a  popular  subject,  a  feast-day  (the 
sheep  having  been  slain  on  the  previous  night  all  over 
Cairo),  we  had  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  there. 
Then  we  had  a  series  of  three  lantern  lectures,  on  the 
'  True  Sacrifice,'  on  Sunday,  Monday,  and  Tuesday,  at 
sunset.  We  took  the  Burnt-Offering  on  Sunday,  with 
Isaac  as  the  type,  and  Christ's  self-surrender  in  Geth- 
semane.  On  Monday  we  took  the  Passover  Feast  as  the 
type,  and  the  Washing  the  Feet  and  the  Lord's  Supper  as 
the  Peace-Offering.  On  Tuesday  we  took  the  Scapegoat 
as  the  type  of  Christ  on  the  Cross,  as  the  Sin-Offering. 
We  had  100,  80,  and  130  there  on  the  several  nights. 
The  last  night  there  were  about  forty  religious  sheikhs 
there,  fifty  effendis,  and  the  rest  Christians  of  sorts.  I 
never  heard  such  breathless  silence  in  Egypt,  and  the 
story  of  the  Cross  really  did  go  home,  I  am  sure; 
because,  when  an  effendi  got  up  at  the  end  of  the  third 
day  (at  my  explanation  of  the  word  'I  thirst,'  as 
Christ's  last  offer  to  His  enemies  of  doing  Him  a 
service  and  coming  into  sympathy  with  Him),  and 
when  he  called  out  loud,  '  Wahhidiih '  (which  means,  say, 
'  Proclaim  God  one '),  not  a  soul  except  his  friend  got 
up  and  followed  him  out,  though  an  exodus  is  the 
usual  result  of  such  a  challenge.  We  have  also  had 
many  sheikhs  here  to  read  and  to  enquire  this  week, 
and  are  opening  a  second  room  below  for  conversations 
and  arguments." 


"BAIT  ARABI  PASHA"  199 

Later  on,  however,  the  Sheikhs  insisted  on  holding 
discussions  after  the  address.  A  more  tiring  and  trying 
affair  than  such  a  discussion  cannot  be  imagined;  to 
conduct  a  difficult  dispute,  with  masters  in  the  art  of 
disputing,  in  a  difficult,  imperfectly-known  language, 
and  in  circumstances  highly  trying  to  the  temper,  is 
perhaps  the  severest  task  to  which  any  missionary  can 
be  called,  especially  when  he  knows  that  his  failure  will 
be  the  signal  for  hilarious  triumph  on  the  part  of  his 
opponents,  and  perhaps  secret  dismay  on  the  part  of 
the  Christians  present.  Nothing,  however,  ever  deterred 
Thornton;  he  had  some  of  the  spirit  that  enjoys  a 
fight,  and  a  good  deal  of  the  obstinacy  that  refuses  to 
budge  in  a  discussion.  He  knew,  moreover,  that  what 
ultimately  tells  on  these  occasions  is  not  the  arguments, 
but  the  spirit  shown;  and  he  was  careful  to  keep  his 
temper,  and  to  show  a  higher  standard  of  courteousness 
than  any  to  which  the  Moslem  aspires.  Often,  however, 
the  meeting  would  break  up  in  disorder.  Yet  he  was 
not  greatly  discouraged.  In  private  conversations  with 
Sheikhs  he  would  hit  hard,  and  things  often  became,  to 
say  the  least,  lively ;  yet  he  never  parted  in  anger,  and 
nothing  but  good  was  done.  And  these  methods  and 
these  aspirations  were  justified  when  a  young  Sheikh 
from  the  Azhar,  who  had  been  foremost  in  opposing, 
and,  in  fact,  had  more  than  once  led  the  disorderly 
exodus,  which  is  the  Moslem  way  of  "erecting  the 
trophy"  on  a  field  which  he  considers  he  has  won, 
became  converted  to  Jesus  Christ,  Whom  he  had 
blasphemed,  and  took  his  stand  as  a  humble 


200  D.  M.  THORNTON 

follower    of    the    Son    of    God.       Of    him    Thornton 
writes — 

"  He  was  the  one  to  make  half  the  audience  leave  last 
spring  when  we  preached  the  Cross.  He  is  now  a 
humble  follower  of  Christ.  It  was  our  tracts  that  he 
first  read  after  coming  here.  Then  he  came  to  our 
Sunday  evening  devotional  meeting.  He  insisted  on 
seeing  me  afterwards,  when  I  was  tired  out.  I  would 
not  argue  about  the  Trinity  with  him — I  never  will, — 
but  I  told  him  I  would  give  him  a  New  Testament  if 
he  would  read  the  Gospels  first,  and  then  come  and 
discuss  them.  One  day  he  read  the  Gospels  for  twelve 
hours  on  end  !  .  .  ." 

This  youth — once  Mahmoud,  now  Paul  (Boulus) — was 
baptized,  confessed  Christ  before  his  father,  one  of 
the  best-known  notables  in  Jerusalem,  and  came  home 
with  Thornton  in  1906  for  a  few  months.  His  visit 
to  England  was  a  source  of  real  help  to  himself,  and 
to  the  missionary  cause  at  home.  The  death  of  his 
friend  and  spiritual  father  was  a  shattering  blow 
to  the  poor  fellow,  but,  thank  God,  he  stood,  and 
is  now  a  most  promising  under-master  in  the  Church 
Missionary  Society's  Boys'  School. 

He   was    confirmed  by  the   Bishop  of   London,  who 

thus  wrote — 

"LONDON  HOUSE, 

"32  S.  JAMES'S  SQUARE,  S.W., 

"Nov.  11,  1906. 

"DEAR  THORNTON, — Thank  you  for  your  long  and 
interesting  letter.  It  was  an  honour  and  privilege 
to  seal '  the  Firstfruits  of  Egypt.' 

"  May  God  bless  you,  and  bring  to  fruition  in  His  good 
time  all  your  schemes  for  the  advance  of  the  Kingdom. 
— Yours  in  true  sympathy,  "  A.  F.  LONDON." 


"BAIT  ARABI  PASHA"  201 

When    he    was   in    England,   he   told   his   story,  by 
interpretation,  in  the  following  way : — 

"  I  was  born  at  Jerusalem,  and  my  father  is  one  of 
the  teachers  in  the  Haram — that  sacred  temple-area 
close  by  the  spot  where  Abraham  offered  up  his  son  Isaac, 
and  not  far  from  where  the  Saviour  offered  Himself  a 
better  sacrifice  for  the  salvation  of  the  world.  My 
father  is  also  one  of  the  editors  of  the  official  newspaper 
of  the  Moslem  authorities  at  Jerusalem.  At  the  age  of 
seven  I  began  my  studies  in  the  Haram.  But  they 
consisted  in  the  study  of  the  Koran  instead  of  the 
Bible,  and  the  laws  of  Mohammed  instead  of  the  laws 
of  Moses.  One  day,  when  still  a  boy,  I  found  acci- 
dentally on  a  shelf  in  our  house  a  Christian  book, 
called  Sweet  Firstfruits.1  Where  and  how  my  father 
became  possessed  of  this  book  I  cannot  say,  for  it  is  a 
book  forbidden  throughout  the  Turkish  Empire.  This 
book  I  read  and  re-read  from  beginning  to  end,  and 
by  it  I  became  acquainted  with  the  principles  of 
Christianity.  In  this  book  I  found  the  passages  of  the 
Koran  examined,  which  speak  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testament  and  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  I  saw  how  our 
commentators  had  perverted  their  meaning.  In  the 
Koran  it  is  said,  'We  have  sent  down  upon  men  the 
books  of  the  New  and  Old  Testaments.'  It  follows 
that  these  Books  must  contain  true  words,  and  were 
meant  as  our  inspired  guide;  but  the  commentators 
say  that  the  Jews  have  so  altered  the  text  that  it 
cannot  be  trusted.  The  Koran  says  of  Jesus  Christ 
that  '  God  sent  Him  into  the  world  as  His  Word  and 
His  Spirit,'  and  the  plain  meaning  is  that  Jesus  is 
the  Word,  and  that  God,  the  Word,  and  the  Spirit  are 
One,  as  in  the  teaching  of  St.  John;  but  our  com- 
mentators say  that  by  Word  and  Spirit  only  expression 
and  breath  are  meant,  and  that  Jesus  was  created  as  well 
as  born,  and  is  not  the  only  begotten  Son  of  the  Father. 

1  Published  by  the  Religious  Tract  Society  in  Arabic. 


202  D.  M.  THORNTON 

The  study  of  this  book  caused  me  to  ask  my  father 
many  questions,  but  instead  of  answering  them  he 
used  to  beat  me,  to  prevent  me  from  talking  on  such 
subjects. 

"After  ten  years'  study  in  the  Haram,  I  was  sent 
to  the  El  Azhar  University  at  Cairo,  the  most  im- 
portant school  of  Moslem  theology  in  the  world.  Five 
times  a  day  I  heard  the  call  to  prayer,  '  There  is  no 
God  but  the  One  God.  Come  to  prayer.'  One  day, 
as  I  was  walking  in  the  direction  of  the  great  bridge, 
I  saw  a  notice  which  attracted  my  attention :  '  This 
is  the  house  of  the  English  clergy,  for  the  discus- 
sion of  religious  and  moral  questions.'  So  I  said  to 
myself,  'This  is  just  what  I  want.'  So  I  entered 
the  reception  room,  and  began  to  talk  with  the 
catechist  about  the  missionaries.  Soon  Mr.  Thornton 
came  in.  After  the  usual  salutations,  he  began  to 
talk  to  me,  and  asked  me  to  attend  the  meeting  in  the 
evening.  This  I  did.  The  subject  that  evening  was: 
'Which  was  the  true  sacrifice,  that  of  Isaac  (as  in 
the  Bible),  or  that  of  Ishmael  (as  is  implied  in  the 
Koran)?'  I  got  up  and  told  Mr.  Thornton  that  he 
did  not  know  what  he  was  talking  about,  as  I  was 
sure  it  was  Ishmael,  not  Isaac,  who  was  offered  by 
Abraham.  After  the  close  of  the  meeting,  tracts  were 
given  to  me,  but  I  was  so  angry  that  I  tore  them 
up,  as  being  the  words  of  unbelievers.  One  evening 
I  even  brought  twenty  students  with  me  from  El 
Azhar  on  purpose  to  break  up  the  meeting.  I  re- 
member the  subject  that  evening  was  '  The  Crucifixion 
of  Christ.'  Now,  the  Moslems  do  not  believe  that 
Jesus  was  ever  really  crucified,  so  I  stopped  the 
speaker,  and  called  out  to  all  true  believers  to  rise  up 
and  protest. 

"  Still,  one  thing  seemed  strange  to  me.  I  was 
treating  the  missionaries  with  hatred  and  insult,  but 
the  missionaries  never  ceased  to  treat  me  with  courtesy, 
and  even  love.  So  I  saw  that  whereas  Islam  teaches 


"BAIT  ARABI  PASHA"  203 

us  to  return  hate  with  hate,  Christianity,  on  the 
contrary,  teaches  men  to  love  their  enemies,  and  to  treat 
them  courteously. 

"  So  then  I  began  to  change  my  conduct.  I  came 
to  the  meetings  week  by  week,  but  no  longer  to  oppose, 
but  to  listen.  I  took  the  tracts  and  read  them  dili- 
gently, and  fixed  my  attention  upon  three  principal 
points, — the  origin  of  Islam,  the  meaning  of  the  mission 
of  Mohammed,  and  the  nature  of  the  inspiration  of 
the  Koran.  As  I  read  the  Christian  tracts,  and 
especially  the  monthly  magazine,  called  the  Orient 
and  Occident,  published  by  the  missionaries  in  Cairo, 
the  beams  of  Christian  light  began  to  reach  my  soul. 

"  Then  Mr.  Thornton,  as  if  he  understood  my  malady 
and  the  medicine  required  for  it,  put  the  Bible  into  my 
hands.  God  gave  me  a  right  understanding  of  the 
gospel.  I  saw  revealed  the  love  of  God  towards  man, 
our  need  of  reconciliation  with  God,  the  need  of  the 
sufferings  of  Christ  to  redeem  mankind,  and  the  truth 
of  the  Christian  teaching  in  the  New  Testament,  and  I 
asked  Mr.  Thornton  for  regular  Bible  instruction. 

"After  two  weeks'  instruction  I  was  entirely  con- 
vinced of  the  truth  of  Christianity.  But  I  had  now 
been  four  years  at  El  Azhar,  and  my  father  wished  me 
to  go  to  Constantinople  in  order  to  study  law  with  a 
view  to  ultimately  becoming  a  Moslem  judge.  I  did 
not  wish  to  go,  because  I  knew  I  should  not  be  able  to 
show  that  I  was  a  Christian,  yet  if  I  did  not  go  all  my 
worldly  prospects  for  the  future  would  be  ruined,  and 
my  father  would  be  made  angry,  and  I  should  have  to 
live  as  an  exile  in  foreign  lands.  After  a  long  struggle 
within  me,  as  I  pondered  these  things  upon  my  bed,  I 
fell  asleep,  and  while  asleep  a  Voice  came  to  me  saying : 
'  Rise  up.  Light  is  on  thy  path.  Be  not  afraid,  for  I 
am  with  thee.'  This  happened  three  times. 

"  In  the  morning  I  went  at  once  to  Mr.  Thornton  to 
tell  him  what  had  happened.  When  he  was  convinced 
that  all  I  said  was  true,  he  received  me  into  the  mission 


204  D.  M.  THORNTON 

compound,  and  the  doctors  gave  me  a  room  under  their 
house.  The  same  afternoon  I  wrote  to  my  father  to 
tell  him  where  I  was,  and  on  7th  October  1905  I  applied 
to  the  proper  quarters  to  have  my  name  legally  inscribed 
as  a  Christian.  The  following  day  Mr.  Thornton 
publicly  received  me  as  a  catechumen  in  the  old  Cairo 
Church,  and  after  a  few  months  of  instruction  and  trial 
he  baptized  me  by  the  name  of  Boulus  (Paul)  instead  of 
my  former  name  of  Mahmoud.  But  before  I  was 
baptized  my  father  wrote  frequently  from  Jerusalem  to 
dissuade  me  from  being  a  Christian,  and  ultimately 
came  himself  to  Cairo  to  bring  me  back.  He  had  several 
interviews  with  me  in  Mr.  Thornton's  house,  and  offered 
me  half  his  fortune  if  I  would  renounce  Christianity 
and  return  home  with  him.  When  his  entreaties  were 
in  vain,  my  father  appealed  to  Lord  Cromer.  I  had  to 
appear  before  his  Lordship,  who  told  me  that  my  father 
was  very  angry  with  me,  but  that  I  was  old  enough  to 
profess  what  religion  I  preferred,  as  Egypt  was  now  a 
free  country.  I  told  Lord  Cromer  that  I  did  not  wish 
to  go  to  Syria  until  it  was  a  free  country,  and  there- 
upon he  made  me  sign  a  document  to  that  effect  in  his 
presence  and  that  of  other  witnesses  to  my  signature. 
The  Prime  Minister  of  Egypt  and  the  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs  were  present  during  the  interview,  and 
witnessed  my  confession.  I  thank  God  for  giving  me 
strength  to  remain  firm.  He  has  given  me  another 
father  in  Mr.  Thornton,  in  place  of  my  own  father  whom 
I  have  lost,  and  He  has  promised  me  treasure  in  Heaven 
in  place  of  the  earthly  possessions  which  would  have 
been  mine ;  and  now  I  feel  and  know  that  God  is  near 
me,  in  a  way  I  never  knew  before.  Pray  for  me.  Peace 
be  with  you." 

To  this  account,  with  which  this  chapter  must  close, 
only  one  sentence  need  be  added.  Commenting  on  one 
of  the  sentences  above  quoted,  Thornton  says  in  a 
letter — 


"BAIT  ARABI  PASHA"  205 

"  One  of  the  things  that  attracted  him  most  in  spite 
of  himself  was  my  invitation  to  him  to  come  every  week 
after  he  had  made  a  disturbance.  This  seems  to  have 
had  much  more  effect  than  our  addresses.  How  im- 
portant the  manner  seems  to  be  in  evangelistic  work ! " 

Truly  so ;  and  it  may  further  be  said  that  had  not 
Thornton  possessed  that  sanguine  faith  and  hope  in 
possibilities,  which  had  its  counterpart,  as  we  have 
seen,  in  his  occasionally  too  grandiose  style,  Mahmoud 
would  not  to-day  be  Paul.  How  often  would  he  say, 
before  Mahmoud's  conversion,  alluding  to  some  hope- 
lessly disorderly  young  Azharis,  "  You  see,  I  never  can 
get  it  out  of  mind,  that  some  of  them  may  be  future 
Sauls  of  Tarsus."  Verbwm  sapienti. 

No  wonder  he  wrote  exuberantly  of  this  work,  but 
with  that  continual  refrain  of  "  Reinforcement !  "  (which 
never  came),  and,  also,  with  an  ominous  note  which  from 
this  time  begins  to  recur  again  and  again — 

"  The  work  is  full  of  joy  and  thrills  of  delight,  as  well 
as  toil  and  disappointments.  But  we  need  some  helpers 
to  be  ready  to  take  our  place  in  case  we  faint  by  the 
way.  Five  years  of  drudgery  must  lie  before  whoever 
wishes  to  gather  in  these  ripening  sheaves.  O  that  the 
Church  at  home  but  realised  one  half  the  opportunity 
of  to-day.  We  need  someone  to  train  Coptic  evangelists 
and  Moslem  converts  to  be  Apostles  to  their  Moslem 
brethren  for  work  all  over  the  Valley  and  Delta  of  the 
Nile.  Will  no  one  hear  the  call  ? " 


CHAPTER  XIII 

"ORIENT  AND   OCCIDENT" 

THE  idea  of  issuing  a  periodical  in  connection  with 
evangelistic  work  among  educated  people  was  not  a 
new  one  when  Thornton  took  it  up  in  1904.  He  was 
already  acquainted  with  two  such  papers,  published 
in  India,  The  Epiphany  and  The  Inquirer,  and  had  a 
great  admiration  for  each  of  them.  But  the  paper 
which  he  conceived  and  initiated  had  some  unique 
features.  It  was  a  regular  magazine,  designed  to  reach 
more  than  the  student  class  only,  with  articles  for  young 
and  old,  Sheikh  and  Effendi,  on  religious  and  on  general 
subjects,  in  two  languages,  and  illustrated.  And  most 
important  of  all,  it  was  to  be  the  nucleus  of  a  publi- 
cation scheme,  for  its  articles  were  to  be  of  permanent 
enough  interest  to  be  reprinted  in  permanent  form. 

The  scope  of  the  magazine  is  best  explained  by 
Thornton  himself.  Writing  during  its  first  half-year 
he  says — 

"  The  scope  of  the  magazine  as  we  wish  it  to  be,  and 
as  it  has  already  in  some  degree  proved  to  be,  is  some- 
what as  follows :  First  and  foremost,  the  promotion  of 
the  knowledge  of  the  Word  of  God  by  means  of  short, 


206 


"ORIENT  AND  OCCIDENT"  207 

self-contained  extracts,  such  as  an  Old  Testament  story 
or  New  Testament  parable  or  miracle,  or  act  of  Christ, 
together  with  a  short  and  simple  study  of  the  passage, 
adapted  in  thought  and  language  to  all  readers. 

"  These  articles  are  illustrated  by  the  kind  permission 
of  the  R.T.S.,  and  the  actual  Bible  words  are  vo welled 
to  show  their  sacred  character,  and  to  enable  them  to  be 
read  by  the  illiterate. 

"The  whole  Bible  extracts,  pictures,  and  exposition 
are  then  reprinted  from  time  to  time,  so  that  the 
magazine  is  the  direct  instrument  of  publishing  a  series 
of  Old  Testament  and  New  Testament  tracts  for  circula- 
tion in  Egypt  and  other  Mahommedan  lands. 

"  Secondly,  articles  of  a  definitely"  religious  stamp, 
such  as  meditations  on  fundamental  truths  of  the 
Christian  faith  ;  dialogues,  apologetic  of  the  faith,  which 
lead  men  into  belief  in  God,  Christ,  the  Bible,  etc.,  and 
answer  the  objections  and  attacks  of  Islam ;  articles 
showing  the  fruits  of  Christianity  in  Christian  bio- 
graphy, and  the  spread  of  the  gospel  throughout  the 
world,  these  also  being  generally  illustrated ;  lastly  may 
be  mentioned  a  new  series  of  translations  of  Christian 
hymns,  including  ones  suitable  for  festivals  and  special 
occasions,  for  which  very  few  evangelical  hymns  are  to 
be  found.  Thirdly,  articles  of  a  more  general  moral 
interest,  such  as  short  accounts  of  men  who,  anywhere 
and  at  any  time,  have  benefited  their  generation  and 
stood  for  righteousness.  Fourthly,  articles  of  social 
interest,  as  the  conditions  of  time,  national  progress, 
the  education  of  and  reverence  for  women,  the  true  use 
of  power  and  influence,  and  national  evils  such  as  in- 
temperance, opium  smoking,  etc.  This  section  includes 
reports  of  addresses  and  debates  held  weekly  at  our 
house." 

The  preparations  for  such  a  new  work  were  attended 
by  very  great  difficulties.  Those  experiences  are  past 
now,  and  will  never  recur  again ;  but  in  looking  back 


208  D.  M.  THORNTON 

on  them  one  does  not  hold  it  truth  with  him  who  sang 
meminisse  juvabit  \  Those  nightmare  times,  when  it  was 
found  that  the  quantity  of  paper  had  been  miscalculated 
— the  agitated  cables  to  London  for  more — the  gnawing 
anxiety  when  waiting  for  the  bales — the  continuous 
anxiety  of  the  financial  aspect — the  troubled  consultations 
till  long  after  midnight,  unfit  preludes  to  meeting  the 
strain  of  the  next  day,  the  weary  hours  of  which,  perhaps, 
would  have  to  be  spent  almost  entirely  at  the  printer's 
office,  very  likely  from  before  breakfast,  struggling  with 
inexperience  in  such  novel  work  !  God  knows  how  there 
was  no  breakdown  in  those  days. 

For  the  planning  and  writing  of  the  paper  was  the 
least  part  of  it.  It  was  the  business  side  that  cost,  in 
expenditure  of  brain  and  nerve  energy;  and  the  fact 
that  during  the  whole  time  the  former  evangelistic 
work  was  carried  on  without  change  or  interruption. 
"  I  foresaw  from  the  first,"  Thornton  said  one  day, 
"that  the  rub  would  come  in  the  circulation"  And 
it  did. 

His  versatility  and  organising  powers  were  seen  at 
their  strongest.  Everything,  from  staff  and  premises 
down  to  the  smallest  detail,  had  to  be  organised — 
often  extemporised,  but  for  everything  Thornton  had 
an  expedient.  But  it  was  a  tax  and  a  strain.  "I've 
got  so  many  things  in  my  brain  to  keep  in  mind  all 
together,  that  I  almost  feel  it  will  burst!"  he  cried 
one  day. 

The  names  of  the  subscribers  of  four  Arabic  daily 
papers  were  copied  down  by  the  clerks,  and  then, 


"ORIENT  AND  OCCIDENT"  209 

when  the  first  (presentation)  number,  an  issue  of  seven 
thousand,  was  produced,  the  reader  may  imagine  the 
scene  at  the  folding,  wrapping,  wafering,  addressing, 
stamping,  and  despatching  of  such  an  abnormal  number 
of  copies,  each  several  one  of  which  involved  no  less 
than  eight  operations  before  it  was  ready  for  the  post. 
A  small  army  of  voluntary  workers,  English  and 
Egyptian,  boys  and  girls  from  the  schools,  missionaries, 
and  even  tourist-visitors,  was  organised  by  Thornton, 
and  the  tables,  chairs,  and  divans  of  the  public 
premises  below  and  the  two  residences  above  over- 
flowed for  a  few  days  with  the  thousands  of  copies  of 
Orient  and  Occident.  This  sort  of  thing  went  on  for 
some  weeks,  in  fact  the  pressure  at  first  increased, 
because  the  returned  copies  involved  additional  work 
in  the  making  and  remaking  and  correcting  of  the 
lists  of  names,  securing  that  the  "  returneds "  were 
crossed  off,  and  that  no  name  had  two  copies  sent  to 
it.  At  last,  however,  this  initial  maelstrom  subsided, 
and  Thornton  was  able  to  evolve  a  sound  working 
system,  instead  of  the  (inevitably)  feverish  organisa- 
tion that  had  to  be  improvised  at  first. 

These,  however,  are  technical  details,  which  are 
only  given  here  because  of  the  vivid  light  they  throw 
on  the  man  and  his  work.  More  important  is  the 
ideal  of  circulation  which  underlay  and  conditioned 
all  these  operations. 

This  ideal  was  the  circulation  of  the  paper,  not  in 
Cairo  only,  but  all  through  Egypt  also;  in  the 
Soudan,  and  as  far  as  possible  in  other  Arabic-speaking 
14 


210  D.  M.  THORNTON 

countries.  No  doubt  the  idea  that  had  originally 
suggested  the  paper  was  to  reach  educated  men  in 
Cairo  itself,  not  only  students,  but  older  men  who  did 
not  care  to  come  to  meetings.  And  the  analogy  of 
Tfie  Epiphany  and  The  Inquirer  would  go  to 
strengthen  that  ideal.  But  very  soon,  months  before 
the  appearance  of  the  first  number,  Thornton's  ideas 
had  widened  on  the  subject.  He  probably  saw — and 
very  reasonably  and  entirely  rightly  saw — that  it  was 
impossible  to  limit  a  periodical  to  a  circulation  in 
one  city,  and  that  the  postal  system  made  it  as  easy 
to  touch  distant  towns,  provinces,  and  even  countries, 
as  to  reach  the  next  Sharia  in  Cairo.  There  is  a 
letter,  as  early  as  the  September  before  the  appear- 
ance of  the  magazine,  written  just  after  his  return  to 
Egypt  from  England,  in  which,  with  admirable  pre- 
cision, he  forecasts  the  results  of  the  paper,  and  the 
course  which  events  as  a  matter  of  fact  did  gradually 
take  from  its  commencement  down  to  the  last 
months  of  his  life,  two  years  and  a  half  later.  He 
wrote — 

"Sept.  25,  1904. 

"The  C.M.S.  have  agreed  to  a  great  forward  move 
in  our  Cairo  work,  which  will  keep  G.  and  me  in  Egypt, 
I  expect,  for  some  time  to  come.  But  it  is  a  move  of  a 
kind  to  benefit  all  missions  in  Bible  lands,  and  so  I  hope 
it  will  prepare  the  way  for  a  visit  to  the  Soudan  later 
on  when  freedom  is  given  me  to  come  with  magic- 
lantern  and  all  my  slides,  and  preach  in  Khartoum  and 
Omdurman  the  blessed  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  I  quite 
hope  this  paper  will  find  its  way  into  the  hands  of 
leading  men  all  over  Egypt  and  the  Soudan,  and  even 


"ORIENT  AND  OCCIDENT"  211 

in  Syria  and  Palestine  and  farther  afield.  I  am  cater- 
ing for  English  civilians,  Egyptian  students  and  editors, 
sheikhs,  and  clerks,  and  government  officials.  And  my 
one  hope  and  prayer  is  that  it  will  lead  to  invitations  to 
hold  meetings  in  all  the  leading  towns  in  Egypt  before 
long.  I  have  had  such  encouragement  at  Suez  and 
Belbeis  that  it  seems  to  me  to  be  a  call  of  God  to  go 
farther  afield,  and,  as  soon  as  we  get  this  literature 
department  in  working  order,  to  hold  missions  all  over 
the  land." 


Thornton  is  continually  giving  surprises.  He  unfolds 
some  scheme ;  it  seems  chimerical — and  in  the  years  to 
come  it  is  brought  to  pass.  Or  conversely,  one  looks 
into  some  early  archives  and  finds  that  some  work, 
which  has  now  been  started  and  is  accepted  as  a 
matter  of  course,  was  then  accurately  forecast,  and  its 
main  lines,  and  even  its  details,  explained.  Justice 
was  never  done  him  in  this  respect;  but  this  was  to 
some  extent  because  he  did  not  do  himself  justice,  for 
undoubtedly  no  one  succeeded  in  conveying  the  im- 
pression of  rashness  more  than  he  did. 

Enumerate,  however,  the  items  mentioned  in  the 
above  extract,  and  it  will  be  found  that  every  one 
of  them  was  fulfilled  except  one,  and  the  carrying 
out  of  that  one  was  fully  planned,  and  the  arrange- 
ments were  all  made,  when  the  sudden  call  came  to 
leave  all  these  things  and  depart  hence. 

It  is  true  that  he  did  not  foresee  that  the  success 
of  the  paper  in  the  capital  would  not  be  as  striking 
as  its  immediate  spread  into  the  provinces,  from 
Assouan  to  Alexandria.  But,  as  soon  as  this  situa- 


212  D.  M.  THORNTON 

tion  became  clear,  he  felt  strongly  that  it  should  be 
regarded  in  the  light  of  a  leading  to  follow  up  such 
promising  opportunities  for  publishing  the  message  of 
Christ,  especially  as  the  forward  step  would  not  involve 
the  abandonment  of  any  work  already  commenced.  As 
the  citations  below  will  show,  he  recognised  the  glaring 
limitations  in  the  forces  that  were  disposable  for  such 
operations;  and  through  all  his  letters  the  cry  for 
reinforcements  rises  with  ever  a  more  poignant  note. 
Still,  with  this  tribute  to  his  soundness  and  consist- 
ency, it  may  be  allowed  that,  to  those  responsible  for 
the  conduct  of  the  work  as  a  whole,  whether  work 
existing  or  work  contemplated,  it  was  a  serious  thing 
to  sanction  a  new  scheme  of  Thornton's  however 
logically  it  followed  from  the  last  one ;  for  there  was 
always  the  strong  probability  of  yet  another  one 
following  a  year  afterwards,  the  logical  Tightness 
and  necessity  of  which  would  be  as  obvious  and  as 
unanswerable. 

Here,  then,  is  his  account  of  the  first  four  months  of 
Orient  and  Occident,  and  how  they  confirmed  him  in 
the  idea  of  extension,  through  the  paper,  which  idea  had 
been  clearly  explained  by  him  in  the  previous  Sep- 
tember— 

[To  HIS  NORFOLK  SCPPORTBKS.]  "April  30,  1905. 

"Besides  subscribers  I  have  endeavoured  to  secure 
sales  of  the  paper  in  the  leading  towns  in  Egypt.  But 
after  two  attempts,  both  of  which  seemed  likely  at  first 
to  be  successful,  I  have  had  to  admit  that  the  time  has 
not  yet  come  for  this  in  Egypt,  for  the  paper-boys  have 
too  often  been  banged  about,  even  at  times  by  so-called 


"ORIENT  AND  OCCIDENT "  213 

gentlemen,  for  daring  to  help  the  Christians  by  selling 
the  paper  for  them.  On  the  other  hand,  the  vilely 
illustrated  rags  in  French,  and  Italian,  and  Arabic,  with 
obscenities  such  as  would  never  be  tolerated  in  any 
English  city  by  public  opinion,  are  sold  everywhere,  in 
the  trains,  on  the  bookstalls,  and  in  the  streets.  One 
newspaper-agent  (himself  a  Moslem)  told  me  that  he  is 
perfectly  sickened  with  the  taste  of  the  men  of  Cairo. 

"  It  is  a  sad  confession  to  make  that  so  far  my  attempt 
to  provide  pure  illustrations  has  failed  to  secure  the 
ordinary  educated  man,  and  the  paper  is  rejected  by  the 
bigoted.  Letters  of  thanks  and  gratitude  have  been 
received  from  as  remote  places  as  Fashoda,  Kassala,  and 
Wady  Haifa,  from  young  government  officials,  etc.  But 
others  have  written  in  this  sort  of  strain :  '  Whatever 
you  may  write  I  shall  remain  in  my  religion,'  and  '  You 
are  all  wrong,  and  Islam  is  the  only  true  religion.' 
Much  fewer  questions  have  been  asked  than  I  expected, 
and  it  seems  that  hardly  any  Moslem  dare  sign  his  name 
to  his  own  question.  The  results  of  the  effort,  how- 
ever, should  encourage  everyone.  Over  eighty  towns  in 
Egypt,  and  twenty  in  the  Sudan,  receive  a  weekly  gospel 
message,  and  several  Moslem  readers  are  to  be  found  in 
them  all.  This  opens  up  the  way  for  evangelistic  work 
over  all  the  country,  if  only  we  had  sufficient  workers 
to  follow  up  the  openings  everywhere.  My  great  long- 
ing is  for  G.  and  myself  alternately  to  get  out  into 
the  provinces,  and  hold  evangelistic  services  in  all  these 
places  where  Moslem  subscribers  are  to  be  found,  and  so 
to  get  into  touch  with  them  all.  But  wre  cannot  do  this 
without  reinforcements.  First  of  all  we  need  a  Christian 
English  business-man,  who  is  also  a  missionary,  and 
knows  Arabic,  to  relieve  me  of  the  business  details  of 
the  work.  I  have  never  made  an  appeal  before  to  those 
who  are  already  doing  so  much  to  help  the  cause,  but  I 
feel  it  only  right  to  do  so  now,  or  else  I  fear  you  will 
soon  have  an  overworked  '  Your  Own  Missionary '  home 
again." 


214  D.  M.  THORNTON 

To  Thornton  it  was  a  proposition  so  obvious  as  not 
to  require  demonstration,  that  a  subscriber  to  his 
paper  became  thereby  a  sort  of  parishioner;  that  the 
next  step,  therefore,  was  to  visit  that  subscriber's 
town  in  order  to  "shake  hands  with  him";  and  the 
next,  to  take  advantage  of  that  visit  to  preach 
Christ's  gospel  in  that  town.  And  if  that  subscriber 
had  happened  to  be  a  Russian  Moslem,  living,  let  us 
say,  in  Turkestan,  he  would  have  had  just  the  same 
feeling  about  him.  And  though  his  suggested  contem- 
plation of  a  call  on  the  Turkestan  subscriber  laid 
him  open  to  amicable  derision,  who  will  say  that  the 
impulse  was  not  noble  and  essentially  right  ?  It  is 
such  impulses  that  inspire  deeds  of  daring ;  and 
without  deeds  of  daring  the  gospel  might  not  yet 
have  spread  even  as  far  as  Macedonia — or  even  Antioch 
in  Pisidia! 

Thus  he  wrote  (in  a  more  official  way  than  in  the 
former  letter  to  his  supporters  in  Norfolk) — 

"May  1905. 

"  So  much  for  the  appeal  for  safeguarding  such  work, 
as  is  being  actually  accomplished.  But  another 
missionary  is  further  needed  if  that  work  is  to  be 
effectively  carried  on,  and  at  all  developed.  The 
problem  that  is  before  us  must  be  looked  at  as  a  whole. 
First  of  all,  'Is  the  work  among  educated  Moslems 
limited  to  Cairo  ? '  Here  is  a  question  of  primary 
importance.  There  are  several  considerations  which 
show  that  an  evangelistic  work  is  not,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  nor  should  be,  so  limited.  This  magazine  is 
opening  doors  to  Moslems — educated  Moslems  in  every 
city  and  township  in  Egypt ;  in  other  words,  the  work 


"ORIENT  AND  OCCIDENT"  215 

has  spontaneously  gone  beyond  the  boundaries  of  the 
city.  Are,  then,  the  openings  that  the  magazine  has  been 
successful  in  making,  not  to  be  followed  up  at  all  ?  Again 
the  men  we  influence  by  our  evangelistic  meetings  go 
into  the  provinces,  nay  more,  to  every  corner  of  the 
Turkish  Empire,  and  even  to  far  off  lands  in  Eussia.  Is 
there  to  be  no  means  of  following  such  as  these  ?  Do 
not  these  scattered  sheep  need  a  shepherd  after  they 
have  left  the  city  ? 

"  From  no  point  of  view  does  it  seem  advisable  that 
we  should  definitely  limit  ourselves  to  the  one  area  of 
Cairo,  any  more  than  the  medical  mission  has  limited 
itself  to  the  place  of  its  own  headquarters. 

"  If,  then,  we  may  venture  to  regard  the  field  as  a 
unity,  and  Cairo  as  the  base,  and,  of  course,  far  the  most 
important  place  on  which  to  concentrate  effort,  we  beg 
to  make  a  very  earnest  appeal  for  immediate  reinforce- 
ment, on  the  ground  also  of  the  great  openings  around 
us,  and  the  entire  inadequacy  of  the  present  evangelistic 
staff  to  cope  with  them.  We  have  pointed  out  two  great 
openings :  social  work  among  students  and  young  men 
in  the  city  of  Cairo,  similar  to  that  which  is  being  done 
in  other  great  student  centres  of  the  Orient ;  and 
evangelistic  work  among  educated  Moslems  in  the 
provinces,  especially  where  the  need  is  greatest,  and 
where  opportunities  are  given  by  the  magazine.  Of 
these  two  branches  of  work,  we  cannot  keep  the  first 
permanently  going,  and  the  second  we  cannot  even 
attempt  to  do,  owing  to  the  impossibility  of  either  of  us, 
if  unrelieved,  leaving  Cairo. 

"Our  appeal  will  be  for  two  new  lay  missionaries. 
The  former  is  needed  to  develop  the  whole  business  side 
of  the  literature  department  of  the  work.  He  should  be 
a  Christian  business-man  if  possible,  with  some  know- 
ledge of  the  book  and  publishing  trade. 

"The  latter  should  be  a  university  man,  or  at  least 
one  that  has  mixed  freely  with  them.  If  possible,  he 
should  also  be  a  scholar  and  an  experienced  Bible 


216  D.  M.  THORNTON 

teacher.     It  is,  of  course,  essential  that  both  be  personal 
workers,  with  a  real  love  for  souls." 

He  goes  on  to  say  that  he  conceives  that  the  work 
of  this  university  man  would  shape  in  the  direction 
of  a  hostel,  or  some  such  institution,  such  as  those 
so  successful  in  India.  It  was,  and  continued  to  be, 
his  policy  that  the  rather  sporadic  "effendi"  work 
should  be,  one  day,  thus  consolidated;  an  idea  which, 
like  all  of  his,  should  be  carefully  borne  in  mind  in 
the  future. 

And  quite  similiarly  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Eugene  Stock 
from  Cyprus,  whither  he  went  in  June  of  that  year: 
in  which  he  says — 

"The  plan  I  put  forward  for  opening  the  doors  of 
Moslem  hearts  all  over  the  valley  of  the  Nile  by  means 
of  Orient  and  Occident,  has  now  had  sufficient  testing 
to  see  what  the  result  is  likely  to  be,  and  how  it  all 
works  out.  But  I  fear  that  with  our  growing 
evangelistic  work  in  Cairo,  G.  and  I  find  ourselves 
unable  to  cope  with  the  work,  much  less  to  follow  it  up. 
Everything  in  Cairo  has  to  be  first  class,  if  it  is  to 
succeed  at  all.  And  so  the  scale  of  this  literary  effort 
has  proved  to  be  more  exacting  than  we  at  first 
imagined  or  anticipated. 

"There  is  no  doubt  that  0.  and  0.  has  become  an 
assured  success  from  a  human  standpoint,  and  is  making 
its  mark,  but  from  a  missionary  standpoint,  all  depends 
upon  whether  we  are  sufficiently  backed  up  to  enable 
one  of  us  to  get  out  of  town  every  week-end  or  so,  to 
follow  up  the  work  by  gathering  subscribers  together  in 
every  town,  and  preaching  Christ  to  them." 

But  the  "backing  up"  was  not  done. 


"ORIENT  AND  OCCIDENT"  217 

During  the  time  it  must  not  be  thought  that  any 
of  the  other  various  branches  of  work  were  being 
allowed  to  drop.  All  that  autumn  and  winter  most 
successful  "effendi"  meetings  were  being  held,1  and 
he  was  preaching  regularly  in  Arabic  on  Sundays 
and  week-nights.  Here  is  a  very  vivid  account  of 
one  such  preaching,  showing  as  it  does  the  economy 
of  space  and  time  practised  by  D.  M.  Thornton — 

"I  think  it  will  give  you  a  better  idea  of  the 
cramped  way  in  which  most  of  us  missionaries  have 
to  work,  if  I  describe  to  you  to  what  uses  these  little 
premises  have  been  put  to  to-day.  When  I  arrived 
there  this  morning  to  take  stock  of  the  second  half 
of  our  order  of  English  books  which  had  just  arrived, 
I  found  three  (of  the  six)  packing  cases  of  new 
stock  to  be  opened;  about  three  hundred  books  had 
to  be  sorted  and  priced  and  stocked  at  one  table, 
while  at  another,  two  thousand  copies  of  Orient  and 
Occident  were  being  folded,  wrapped  up,  and  despatched 
by  post.  The  agent  of  the  periodical,  and  his  boy 
clerk  and  the  servant,  were  hard  at  work  at  this  all 
day,  and  our  Arabic  translator  was  writing  the  English 
addresses  till  I  came.  It  took  the  latter  and  myself 
and  our  salesman  nearly  four  hours  to  register  the 
contents  of  two  boxes,  the  sixth  had  to  be  left  till 
to-morrow ;  three  were  finished  yesterday.  But  no 
sooner  was  the  work  over,  than  this  place,  which  had 
been  the  scene  of  stock-taking  and  newspaper-wrapping, 
had  to  be  thoroughly  swept  and  cleared,  and  instead  of 
cases,  chairs  had  to  be  brought  out  from  a  stowaway  in 
the  wall  (behind  the  telephone),  and  under  our  book- 
shelf of  tracts — to  seat  forty  or  fifty  people  for  an 
evening  lantern  meeting.  And  the  same  servant  who 
had  been  working  all  day  at  folding,  and  then  at 

1See  pages  191-199. 


21 8  D.  M.  THORNTON 

cleaning,  had  to  stay  to  manage  the  lantern  in  the 
evening.  It  was  quite  a  miracle  to  see  the  trans- 
formation in  so  short  a  time.  But  think  of  the 
stuffiness  of  such  a  place  after  not  less  than  six  persons 
had  been  in  it  all  day,  and  all  the  dust  of  the  parcels 
and  cases  had  been  flying  about.  And  yet  no  other 
preaching  place  than  this  belongs  to  the  C.M.S.,  right  in 
the  centre  of  the  city,1  and  so  we  have  to  do  the  best 
we  can.  I  wish  someone  would  give  us  enough  money 
to  buy  up  the  native  theatre  round  the  corner. 

"I  have  just  returned  from  a  crowded,  odorous 
meeting.  We  are  taking  the  life  of  Moses,  and  to-day 
we  reached  Mount  Sinai,  and  the  giving  of  the  law. 
Straight  talks  on  swearing,  Sabbath-breaking,  honour- 
ing parents,  anger,  impurity,  stealing,  and  the  like  to 
the  artisans  of  Cairo.  How  they  listened !  and  then 
some  Turkish  sheikhs  came  in,  and  paid  great  attention. 
Finally,  nearly  all  stood  to  pray  at  the  end,  showing 
how  deeply  they  had  been  touched.  A  hearty  hand- 
shake with  them  all  as  they  left,  coupled  with  a 
cheering  word,  pressing  upon  them  decision,  trust  in 
Christ,  etc.,  closed  the  day. 

"And  to-morrow  evening  another  gathering  of  fifty 
of  Egypt's  picked  students  will  be  meeting  in  the  hall 
below  our  house,  to  discuss  how  we  can  put  down  the 
impurity  which  is  so  rife  in  Egypt,  and  Cairo  especially, 
and  then  on  Sunday  evening  (below),  we  shall  tell  the 
story  of  David's  fall  and  repentance.  Last  Sunday  the 
subject  was,  '  Christ's  dealings  with  the  adulteress.' 

"  Such  is  a  brief  picture  of  our  day,  and  a  glimpse  at 
our  programme  of  work.  Add  to  this  all  the  correspon- 
dence and  interviews,  the  account-keeping,  and  the 
preparation  for  addresses,  and  you  will  see  that  even  a 
strong  man  is  insufficient  for  these  things.  I  keep 

1  And  in  1906  this  one  also  had  to  be  given  up  ;  and  up  to  the  present 
(1908)  no  central  Book  Depot  has  been  held  by  the  Society,  rents  being 
such  that  it  is  felt  that  what  must  be  appealed  for  and  obtained  is  central 
freehold  premises  and  buildings.  Who  will  help  ? 


219 

going  by  taking  my  exercise  three  days  a  week  before 
8  a.m.  But  the  C.M.S.  doctors  here  give  me  five 
or  six  more  years  to  live,  if  I  have  to  go  on  like 
this,  and  yet  we  have  not  been  sent  an  increase  to 
either  our  native  or  European  staff  of  evangelists  in 
Cairo  for  six  years,  though  the  work  has  doubled.  Is 
there  not  some  kind  friend  at  home  who  would  provide 
me  with  a  clerk?  How  can  I  be  editor,  translator, 
proof-reader,  publisher,  bookseller,  and  stock-taker, 
writer,  correspondent,  accountant,  and  commercial 
traveller,  as  well  as  preacher,  evangelist,  and  teacher? 
But  all  these  things  form  part  of  my  work.  You 
remember  that  two  years  ago  I  had  to  be  other  things 
besides,  and  if  the  secretary  were  to  break  down  or 
takes  a  holiday,  I  have  immediately  to  be  those  things 
again." 

And  again — 

"Oct.  9,  1905. 

"  Your  letter  of  3rd  October  was  very  welcome,  and 
there  is  no  time  like  the  present  for  answering  it,  or  else 
it  will  get  into  the  unanswered  pile  !  It  arrived  by  the 
same  post  as  a  most  interesting  epistle  from  Godfrey 
Dale,  Canon  of  Zanzibar,  who  seems  to  be  a  most 
interesting  man.  It  was  a  useful  antidote  to  yours,  as 
he  asked  for  one  missing  number  to  be  sent  him, 
and  you  asked  for  0.  and  0.  to  be  discontinued  !  I 
will  look  to-morrow  to  see  if  you  are  on  the  weekly  or 
monthly  list ;  if  on  the  former  I  will  put  you  on  the 
latter.  About  every  month  we  try  to  have  more 
English  than  usual,  and  send  this  number  to  friends  to 
secure  interest  far  and  wide.  By  this  same  mail  I  also 
received  a  note  from  the  Bishop  of  Manchester,  thanking 
me  for  sending  him  the  programme  of  our  autumn 
meetings,  and  for  congratulating  him  on  the  Blackpool 
mission.  I  told  him  it  did  us  missionaries  abroad  good  to 
hear  of  a  home  Bishop  preaching  on  the  sands.  Perhaps 
it  came  as  a  new  motive  for  his  renewing  the  experience." 


220  D.  M.  THORNTON 

Nothing  did  he  like  better  than  a  visit  to  El 
Azhar,  generally  to  escort  some  visitor  over  the  place. 
He  was  never  too  busy  for  that.  The  contact  with 
so  many  nationalities  bringing  him  the  vision  of 
distant  lands,  exactly  suited  the  Thornton  of  Africa 
Waiting.  On  one  such  occasion  he  ferreted  out  a 
round-faced,  almond-eyed  individual  in  one  of  the 
courts,  and  prognosed  him  as  a  Mongolian  Moslem  from 
Asia.  Great  was  his  glee  when  the  prognosis  turned 
out  to  be  correct,  and  he  knew  he  had  actually  shaken 
hands  with  a  Mohammedan  from  Omsk,  in  Central  Asia, 
in  the  farther  regions  of  the  Russian  Empire  ! 

Notice  the  change  in  the  Azhar  students  to-day — 

"  Last  Thursday  I  took  a  party  round  the  place.  For 
the  first  time  I  was  allowed  to  go  without  a  guide  or 
guard.  Everywhere  I  was  welcomed  : — here  by  a  sheikh 
from  Nablus,  who  seemed  genuinely  glad  that  M.  (a 
distant  relative  of  his),  had  become  a  Christian,  and  led 
the  way ;  there  by  a  young  sheikh  from  Jerusalem, 
whom  M.  has  already  led  to  enquire  about  the  way  of 
salvation.  And  so  on  from  corner  to  corner  and  court 
to  court.  No  longer  any  suspicion  remains.  They  know 
me,  they  have  heard  our  message  in  our  house,  they  wel- 
come me  and  greet  me  before  their  fellows  and  professors. 
Surely  these  are  not  far  from  the  kingdom  of  God." 

Needless  to  say,  the  incident  was  worked  into  a 
scheme  for  enlarging  the  scope  of  the  efiendi  meetings 
and  lectures  to  converts  and  others,  of  which  some- 
thing more  must  be  said  in  the  next  chapter — 

"  The  advantage  of  such  a  scheme  would  be  that,  by 
arranging  the  lectures  at  hours  which  do  not  clash  with 
the  curriculum  of  Government  schools  and  the  Azhar, 


"ORIENT  AND  OCCIDENT"  221 

we  should  get  a  number  of  students  from  both  to  our 
open  lectures,  just  as  we  do  already.  And  when  I  tell 
you  that  I  discovered  a  Russian  Moslem  from  Omsk,  in 
Siberia,  in  the  Azhar  the  other  day,  besides  others  from 
Hausaland,  Sierra  Leone,  and  the  oasis  of  Kharga,  you 
will  see  that  such  a  plan  might  reach  Moslems  over  a 
vast  area." 

And,  finally,  he  was  working  as  hard  as  ever  at 
the  Literature  Idea.  This  very  summer,  quite  on  his 
own  initiative,  he  published  the  first  of  a  series  which 
has  since  proved  the  most  successful  of  the  reprints 
to  which  Orient  and  Occident  gave  birth,  an  illus- 
trated Life  of  Abraham,  written  by  himself  during 
his  colleague's  holiday,  and  reprinted  from  the  same 
types.  He  had  discovered  that  the  small  tracts  with 
which  we  started,  and  which  had  been  reprinting  since 
January,  were  not  saleable,  and  with  his  usual  elasti- 
city he  changed  his  tactics,  and  took  the  responsibility 
of  publishing  a  larger  work.  This  Life  was  the 
prelude  to  a  series  of  saleable  books,  the  publication 
of  which  is  still  continuing. 

The  stock  of  the  depot  was  being  enlarged,  and  so 
keen  was  Thornton  on  increasing  the  whole  business, 
and  on  making  it  self-supporting,  that  he  was  fain 
to  be  allowed  to  capitalise  it  himself !  He  held  strong 
views  on  the  use  to  which  private  capital  should  be 
put.  Even  when  he  went  away  that  autumn  (1905)  for 
a  short  holiday  to  Jerusalem  it  was,  as  he  briskly  and 
cheerfully  remarked,  to  "do  business."  His  eagle  eye 
there  caught  sight  of  a  quantity  of  Arabic  theological 
literature,  the  publications  of  a  mission  press  which 


222  D.  M.  THORNTON 

had  been  long  given  up,  the  stock  of  which  had  been 
almost  forgotten.  Thornton,  of  course,  caught  on  to 
its  importance  immediately,  and  in  a  trice  had  made 
an  agreement  by  which  a  large  consignment  should  be 
shipped  to  Cairo,  where  it  was  stocked  and  put  on 
sale,  with  the  happiest  results. 

It  was  on  the  way  to  Jerusalem  that  his  passing 
through  Port  Said  gave  rise  to  the  following  char- 
acteristic effusion,  which,  like  all  of  his  ideas,  compel 
us  seriously  to  ask  ourselves  whether  there  is  not 
a  great  deal  in  it,  and  whether  it  ought  not  to  be 
done : — 

"  While  at  Port  Said  I  visited  the  head  of  the  Egyptian 
P.O.,  a  most  earnest  Copt.  He  has  promised  to  help  our 
work  and  to  facilitate  the  circulation  of  0.  and  0. 
among  the  employes  under  him.  I  also  spoke  to  him  of 
my  growing  desire  to  open  a  Christian  bookshop  in  Port 
Said  in  conjunction  with  the  Bible  Society  if  possible, 
and  he  was  very  warm  in  commending  the  idea.  The 
Bible  Society  agent  tells  me  that  over  and  over  again 
chaplains  and  other  travellers  come  to  him  for  books  of 
a  Christian  tone,  for  prayer-books,  hymn-books,  etc.,  for 
services  on  board  the  steamers,  and  he  has  to  say  No. 
I  have  investigated  the  English  stock  of  books  in  book- 
shops in  Port  Said  and  could  improve  on  them  (with 
my  small  knowledge)  ten  times  over.  All  I  want  is  a 
capital  fund  of  £250  given  me  to  start  with,  and  a  share 
in  the  rent  granted  by  C.M.S.  or  private  friends,  and 
£50  a  year  for  a  colporteur  for  a  year  or  two,  and  I  am 
sure  I  can  make  it  a  paying  concern.  I  have  found  out 
that  some  of  the  Port  Said  booksellers  sell  £1400  a  year 
(with  colportage)  and  gain  £700  to  £800  a  year  net  profit. 
So  it  must  be  possible  to  gain  half  that  amount  by  fair 
means.  If  so,  I  could  then  open  a  third  one  at  Alexandria. 


"ORIENT  AND  OCCIDENT11  223 

Of  course  each  will  contain  all  our  Arabic  publications, 
and  become  a  centre  of  mission  work. 

"  Think  for  one  moment  of  the  influence  that  such  a 
shop  would  exert.  It  will  influence  a  very  much  wider 
number  of  Englishmen  going  to  the  East  than  the  Bible 
Society  alone  can  do.  Think  of  the  thousands  of  British 
sailors  and  soldiers  that  would  benefit  thereby,  not  to 
mention  civilians  as  well.  And  then  think  of  the  effect 
on  all  the  other  shops  in  Port  Said.  It  will  raise  the 
whole  tone  of  these  as  well.  So  that  £250  thus  spent 
or  invested  would  bring  indeed  a  moral  and  spiritual 
harvest.  I  would  put  my  own  money  into  such  an  effort 
at  once  if  I  did  not  think  that  some  of  the  enemy  might 
think  I  was  trying  to  make  money  by  the  scheme. 

"  Such  shops  will  also  enable  us  to  secure  money  for 
the  publishing  of  much  needed  Christian  books  and 
tracts  in  Arabic,  without  any  future  cost  to  C.M.S.  or 
to  other  societies.  I  put  the  matter  before  you  all,  and 
ask  you  to  make  it  an  earnest  matter  of  prayer." 

But  the  absence  of  reinforcements  that  autumn  lay 
like  a  dead-weight  on  his  mind.  He  writes  to  a  friend 

o 

about  the  continued  success  and  expansion  of  the  work, 
and  says — 

"  But  where  are  the  reinforcements  to  save  us  from  a 
breakdown  very  soon.  I  was  on  the  verge  of  knocking 
up  in  May.  My  wife's  illness  was  the  last  straw  on  the 
top  of  the  C.M.S.  resolution  not  to  give  us  any  more 
assistance.  .  .  .  My  faith  is  very  sorely  tried.  One  is 
tempted  to  say,  of  what  use  is  this  waste,  for  waste  of 
life  and  energy  it  is  as  far  as  human  eye  can  see." 

And  similarly,  though  in  a  calmer  tone — 

"  The  temporary  absence  of  one  of  us,  say  for  a  week- 
end, is  at  once  felt,  while  any  longer  absence,  such  as  for 
a  summer  holiday,  would  make  the  strain  very  great 
indeed,  unless  such  work  is  altogether  to  cease  for  a 


224  D.  M.  THORNTON 

while.  The  breakdown  of  any  one  of  us  on  the  Cairo 
staff  of  the  Mission  would  have  results  which  we  cannot 
contemplate  without  dismay.  While  this  is  doubtless 
true  in  any  part  of  the  mission  field,  it  is  tenfold  more 
so  where  the  evangelistic  work  can  be  carried  on  all  the 
year  round,  where  it  is  undergoing  rapid  development 
and  expansion,  and  where  at  the  same  time  the  gap 
between  the  two  evangelistic  missionaries  and  the  next 
recruit  is  becoming  so  wide.  Already  that  gap  is  close 
on  six  years,  the  wider  it  gets  the  greater  are  the  risks 
of  serious  collapse  if  one  of  the  two  were  called  away." 

The  last  words,  solemn  enough  as  they  stand, 
become  almost  tragic  when  one  thinks  of  the  fatal 
September  two  years  later ;  when,  before  that  reinforce- 
ment had  even  yet  come,  one  was  "called  away," 
and  that  "gap"  had  become  not  six,  but  eight  years. 
When  it  is  reflected  how  difficult  and  highly  specialised 
work  such  as  that  is  which  is  being  described,  and 
that  it  is  from  four  to  six  years  before  a  new  recruit 
can  take  much  serious  part  in  it,  it  will  be  felt  how 
serious,  how  very  serious,  should  be  the  resolve  that 
what  has  happened  this  time  should  never  be  allowed 
to  happen  again ;  and  the  Church  of  Christ  should  see 
to  it  that  the  development  of  a  great  work  once  begun 
shall  be  continuous,  not  spasmodic,  and  that  the  second 
and  third  lines  of  reserves  shall  never  again  be  so  far 
behind  the  first  attack,  still  less  be  totally  non-existent. 

And  therefore,  though  one  has  no  desire  to  work 
up  sensation  or  use  false  pathos,  yet,  because  this 
matter  is  of  more  solid  importance  than  feelings 
or  even  the  overworking  of  any  individual,  we 
may  close  this  chapter  with  a  picture  familiar 


"ORIENT  AND  OCCIDENT"  225 

enough  to  us  in  Cairo  during  those  last  two  years  : 
Thornton  —  with  his  tired,  worn  expression,  and  face 
so  palpably  thinned  and  looking  ten  years  older  than 
his  age, — writing  in  his  study,  unable  to  do  anything 
but  think  of  the  work  and  its  needs,  and  too  tired 
even  to  stop  thinking.  At  the  end  of  a  five-sheet 
letter  to  his  lifelong  friend,  Mr.  Eugene  Stock,  he 
writes  (and  the  words  are  touching  just  because 
Thornton  did  not  write  for  effect) — 

"  But  I  am  weary.  I  have  only  written  because  I  am 
too  weary  to  be  working  now  and  too  tired  yet  to 
sleep.  ...  I  am  getting  prematurely  old  they  tell  me, 
and  doctors  do  not  give  me  long  to  live,  unless  the  strain 
is  eased  a  bit.  I  must  come  home  this  summer  anyhow. 
My  wife  is  wearier  than  I  am.  She  needs  complete  rest 
awhile.  The  family  need  me  once  again  for  counsel  and 
for  help.  .  .  .  Oh  that  the  Church  at  home  but  realised 
one-half  the  opportunity  of  to-day !  Will  no  one  hear 
the  call  ?  Please  do  your  best  to  help  us.  The  fields  are 
white." 

Is  it  utterly  culpable,  this  self -overwork  ?  Truly  it 
is  not  a  thing  to  be  praised  or  recommended;  and 
yet,  towards  Thornton,  one  does  not  dare  to  pose  as 
censor;  rather  does  one  turn  away,  recollecting,  like 
certain  others  of  old,  the  Scripture  that  saith,  "The 
zeal  of  Thine  house  hath  eaten  me  up." 


15 


CHAPTER    XIV 

THE  LAST  FURLOUGH 

BEFORE  leaving  Egypt  for  his,  so-called,  furlough 
in  the  spring  of  1906,  Thornton  attended  a  con- 
ference at  Cairo,  which,  if  possible,  gave  a  new 
stimulus  to  his  faculty  for  dreaming  dreams,  and 
conceiving  far -reaching  plans  for  their  conversion 
to  reality.  The  visionary  inspiration  which,  from 
the  earliest  days,  had  led  him  to  look  on  the  world 
of  Islam  as  one,  and  Cairo,  its  most  notable  centre, 
was  now  raised  to  its  highest  power.  It  is  diffi- 
cult to  see  how  he  could  have  further  gone  in  this 
direction;  and  it  is  significant  that  after  this  period 
we  find  him  concentrating  finally  upon  a  work  which, 
though  great,  was  but  one  aspect  of  the  whole,  and  that 
when  death's  hand  was  laid  on  him,  his  whole  energies 
for  many  years  were  bespoken  for  an  object  which,  in 
comparison  with  the  scope  of  his  dreams,  might  almost 
be  described  as  local,  though  in  fact  it  embraced  all 
Egypt.  It  was  as  though  he  was  to  prove  that  he  was 
as  capable  of  the  practical  prosecution  of  a  definite  piece 
of  work,  as  of  designing  great  enterprises  which  only 
time  could  realise — as  though  to  fulfil  the  last  and  most 

226 


THE  LAST  FURLOUGH  227 

testing  demand  made  on  the  Christian  seer,  to  "doe 
ye  nexte  thynge." 

A  general  conference  of  missionaries  to  Moslems  was, 
of  course,  an  event  entirely  relished  by  D.  M.  Thornton. 
He  thus  expresses  his  aspirations  in  view  of  it  to  his 
friend  Mr.  John  Mott — 

"The  thing  I  am  now  most  anxious  about  is  the 
securing  of  adequate  delegations  from  the  secretariat 
of  English  Missionary  Societies,  especially  from  those 
boards  that  do  little  or  no  work  among  Moslems,  such 
as  the  English,  Scotch,  and  Irish  Presbyterians.  It 
seems  to  me  that  this  Moslem  work  does  need  such 
highly  trained  men.  I  believe  that  such  work  (being, 
as  it  is,  done  among  Unitarians  and  destructive  critics 
of  the  Bible)  is  most  necessary  work  for  those  parts  of 
the  Church  to  undertake  which  are  most  affected  by 
tendencies  in  both  these  directions,  as  an  antidote. 
The  whole  of  North  Africa  needs  occupying  for 
Christ  still.  The  work  of  the  North  Africa  Mission 
is  not  touching  the  fringe  of  the  problem.  The  call 
comes  from  India  for  far  more  special  missions  to 
Moslem  centres  there,  and  the  openings  in  Persia  seem 
wonderful. 

"  We  want  some  special  training  given  (e.g.  by  Dr. 
Tisdall)  to  would-be  missionaries  to  Moslem  lands,  either 
in  Cairo  or  England.  They  ought  all  to  learn  enough 
Arabic  to  read  the  Koran  in  the  original.  They  ought 
to  learn  it  where  they  can  see  aggressive  work  among 
all  classes  of  Mohammedans  as  is  done  here  in  Cairo,  so 
as  to  learn  all  possible  methods. 

"  I  hope,  also,  to  see  more  combination  in  future  in  the 
production  of  literature  for  Moslems.  I  am  glad  to  say 
that  our  work  is  already  being  translated  into  Swahili. 
But  we  want  more  interchange  of  work  done  promoted 
by  correspondence.  It  may  be  that  both  those  results 
will  accrue  from  this  gathering." 


228  D.  M.  THORNTON 

The  two  ideas  mentioned  here  were,  of  course,  not 
new,  as  the  reader  now  knows  well.  Co-operation  in 
the  special  training  of  missionaries  for  Moslem  lands, 
and  combination  in  special  literature  for  Mohammedans, 
had  long  been  his  ideals.1  But  the  following  passage 
reveals  yet  another  plan  which  at  this  time  was  occu- 
pying his  mind  to  a  very  large  extent: — 

"  Visions  have  lately  begun  to  dawn  upon  me  as  to 
how  this  conference  may  be  utilised  to  prepare  the  way 
for  the  more  speedy  conquest  of  Islam.  And  I  hope 
with  G.  to  have  by  the  conference  some  practical  and 
digested  proposals  to  make,  on  the  line  of  the  two  ways 
in  which  I  anticipate  we  shall  find  co-operation  possible 
between  different  missions.  Briefly  put,  they  consist  in 
the  starting  of  a  Christian  counterpart  to  the  Azhar, 
viz.  a  kind  of  non-residential  university  of  international 
influence,  but  with  a  Christian  hostel  attached,  for  able 
Moslem  converts  from  different  lands.  This  university 
would  especially  take  up  the  task  of  stating  the  Chris- 
tian faith  in  the  Arabic  language,  and  teaching  to  a 
growing  band  of  students  of  the  East.  Like  the  Madras 
Christian  College,  it  should  be  open  to  students  of  all 
religions,  but  with  a  Christian  staff  of  professors,  both 
in  English  and  Arabic.  I  doubt  not  that  as  our  meet- 
ings were  already  attended  by  so  many  Coptic  and 
Syrian  Christian  students,  and  by  Moslems  from  many 
lands,  so  such  lectures  would  be  also  attended  by  Azhar 
students  in  numbers,  so  long  as  the  hours  of  lectures  be 
adapted  to  the  need." 

The  proposal  is  sufficiently  startling.     Personally  the 

writer  thought,  and  still  thinks,  that  Thornton's  vision 

had  here  for  once  become,  in  the  less  favourable  sense 

of  the  term,  visionary,  and  that  his  practical  sense  was 

1  i.e.  from  the  first  six  months  !     See  pp.  115,  120. 


THE  LAST  FURLOUGH  229 

at  fault.  Moreover,  one  felt,  and  still  feels,  that  the 
subject  was,  for  once,  crudely  thought  out  and 
thoroughly  undigested.  Several  ideas,  with  only  a 
rather  superficial  connection  between  them,  were  fer- 
menting in  Thornton's  mind :  combination  in  the 
training  of  English-speaking  missionaries  to  Islam; 
combination  in  the  training  of  Arabic-speaking  (or 
even  non-Arabic-speaking)  converts  from  Islam,  and 
other  non-English  workers;  hostels  for  the  same; 
general  classes,  resembling  University  Extension  lec- 
tures; and,  finally,  a  complete  Arts  College,  like  that 
at  Beyroot  or  Madras, — and  he  felt  all  of  them  so 
important  that,  with  that  tendency  to  synthetise  on 
the  strength  of  an  incomplete  analysis  which  is  the 
besetting  temptation  of  enthusiastic  souls,  he  lumped 
them  together  in  a  rather  premature  manner,  and 
sought  to  work  them  out  in  his  mind  as  though 
they  were  one  thing.  The  earliest  attempt  at  practical 
realisation  would  have  at  once  involved  the  making  of 
profound  modifications  of  this  rough  draft;  and  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  more  portentous  parts  of  it,  in 
spite  of  heroic  efforts  on  Thornton's  part  during  his 
furlough,  had  to  be  allowed  to  fall  to  the  ground. 
One  grudged,  and  to-day,  of  course,  grudges  still  more, 
the  amount  of  time  and  precious  strength  poured 
forth  by  him  on  a  quest  which  one  could  not  but  feel 
visionary;  and  yet,  even  so,  we  have  too  often  had 
occasion  to  respect  Thornton's  long-sightedness  to  allow 
us  to  say  categorically  even  in  this  case  that  there 
was  nothing  in  what  he  saw.  It  may  be  that  in  this, 


230  D.  M.  THORNTON 

too,  he  will  one  day  prove  to  have  been  before  his 
times. 

This  preoccupation  with  matters  educational  was 
based  upon  two  things — first,  as  is  to  be  gathered  from 
the  above  passages,  the  quiet  success  of  the  meetings  for 
effendis  held  in  Bait  Arabi  Pasha,  and  secondly,  the  fact 
that  the  religious  question  in  Egyptian  schools  was  at 
that  time  occupying  a  good  deal  of  attention.  Efforts 
were  being  made  by  Coptic  leaders  to  remove  the  great 
grievance  which  then  existed,  namely,  that  the  teaching 
of  Islam  was  endowed  in  all  provided  schools,  to  the 
exclusion  of  any  form  of  Christianity,  and  that  Christian 
boys  actually  had  to  attend  (though  not  take  part  in) 
the  lesson  in  the  Mohammedan  religion.  Thornton  was 

o 

deeply  gratified  at  being  permitted  to  associate  himself 
with  these  leaders  in  their  efforts,  which,  as  we  shall  see, 
were  successful.  But  at  the  time  success  was  not  in 
sight,  and  his  mind  was  exercised  by  the  unsatisfactory 
state  of  Egyptian  education  from  a  Christian,  and  even 
from  a  generally  religious,  standpoint,  and  so  naturally 
turned  to  any  plan  which  tended  towards  remedying 
that  defect.  And  to  one  who  had  assimilated  the  lessons 
taught  by  a  Duff,  a  Miller  of  Madras,  a  Bliss  of 
Beyroot,  the  creation  of  a  Christian  College  in  Cairo  did 
not  seem  an  unheard  of  proposal. 

The  following  words  reveal  his  ideas  at  that  time : — 

"  I  don't  think  I  can  possibly  convey  you  the  import- 
ance of  this  step  [i.e.  Christian  teaching  for  Christians 
in  provided  schools]  to  the  cause  of  Christianity  in 
Egypt.  Only  on  these  conditions  can  one  natural  system 


THE  LAST  FURLOUGH  231 

of  education  in  Egypt  be  permanently  built  up.  The 
present  tendencies  are  all  in  favour  of  increasing  the 
number  of  private  schools,  both  Moslem  and  Christian 
(in  spite  of  Lord  Cromer's  expressed  disapproval  in  his 
last  report),  which  are  less  efficient  and  more  bigoted, 
besides  being  the  means  of  keeping  the  elements  of  the 
nation  apart,  thus  preventing  the  growth  of  patriotism, 
national  spirit,  etc.,  while  allowing  the  cause  of  Pan- 
Islamism  to  be  strengthened,  which  saps  the  very  life 
out  of  Egypt,  just  as  Rome  did  out  of  England  long  ago. 
We  were  glad  to  be  able  to  go  as  champions  of  the  cause 
of  a  national  education,  which  would  deal  fair  play  to 
all  parties  as  desirous  to  give  moral  support  to  the 
Government,  but  only  on  condition  of  equal  treatment 
to  all  denominations.  We  now  await  the  result.  It  will 
vitally  affect  our  future  mission  to  this  land." 

This  is  all  that  need  be  said  about  the  proposals 
which  were  elaborated  by  Thornton  at  this  period. 
The  following  passages  from  his  letters  show  how 
they  evolved  in  his  own  mind: — 

"  It  would  seem  obvious,  therefore,  that  what  is  now 
needed  is  an  extension  of  our  present  method  of  giving 
extra-mural  lectures  by  sending  out  at  least  two  able 
university  men,  so  as  to  make  possible  the  forming  a 
nucleus  of  what  may  in  God's  providence  lead  some  day 
to  an  Anglo-Oriental  university  in  Cairo,  which  will  be 
staffed  by  English-speaking  and  Arabic-speaking  pro- 
fessors, and  run  on  purely  Christian  principles.  Such 
is  the  ideal  to  aim  at.  How  can  it  be  realised,  without 
too  heavy  a  burden  being  laid  upon  the  Society  ? 

"  You  may,  perhaps,  ask  why  are  we  now  proposing 
to  have  such  a  varied  programme  in  Cairo,  and  what 
bearing  has  it  upon  the  evangelisation  of  Moslem  lands. 
To  this  we  would  reply  that  we  feel  the  great  need  now 
in  this  Moslem  centre  to  have  regular  courses  of  lectures, 
where  up-to-date  constructive  Christianity  can  be  taught. 


232  D.  M.  THORNTON 

"If  we  do  not  step  in  and  help  the  nation  and  the 
students  from  other  nations  who  study  here  to  feel 
their  way  to  Christ,  the  only  outlook  is  that  of  an 
educated  class  of  agnostics  on  the  one  hand,  and  a 
recrudescence  of  Islam  in  its  more  fanatical  form  on 
the  other.  May  God  help  us  to  rise  to  our  opportunities 
in  time. 

"  How  can  a  scheme  be  devised  that  will  succeed  with- 
out going  in  for  prohibitive  expenses  in  buildings,  etc.  ? 

"  My  proposal  is  to  appeal  to  the  senior  members  of 
Oxford  and  Cambridge,  who  are  in  sympathy  with 
C.M.S.  work,  to  send  out  two  able  university  men  with 
first-rate  degrees,  to  work  alongside  of  us  in  Cairo,  and 
in  connection  with  the  C.M.S.,  just  as  the  Delhi  men  are 
with  the  S.P.G.  Given  the  brains,  the  rest  will  follow. 
Our  idea  is  to  increase  these  extra-mural  lectures  of 
ours  to  at  least  seven  or  eight  a  week,  instead  of  two, 
as  at  present.  If  they  would  be  recognised  by  the  two 
universities  as  '  extension  lectures '  to  Cairo,  it  would  be 
admirable,  but,  I  daresay,  not  practical.  If  not,  let  the 
scheme  be  taken  up  by  the  senior  and  junior  C.M.U. 
members  in  both  universities.  If  so,  I  should  like, 
while  I  am  home,  to  have  the  opportunity  of  addressing 
both,  either  in  May  or  June.  You  will  know  what  is 
feasible  at  once." 

"  As  doubtless  you  will  have  seen  from  my  letters  to 
Mr.  Fox,  we  as  a  mission  are  being  led  to  feel  the  need 
from  a  purely  national  point  of  view  to  develop  this 
effendi  work  by  affording  higher  education  on  Christian 
lines,  which  cannot  be  obtained  elsewhere  in  the  land. 
So  that  there  are  several  reasons  at  work  compelling  me 
to  take  up  the  task  of  leading  the  way  in  the  realisation 
of  the  first  proposal  above ;  but,  of  course,  we  cannot 
dream  of  doing  so  without  specially  selected  reinforce- 
ments. The  idea  the  Conference  has  in  mind  is  to  set  on 
foot  what  may  some  day  develop  into  a  counter- 
University  to  the  Azhar,  where  Arabic,  the  tenets  of 
both  Islam  and  Christianity  and  Christian  ethics,  evi- 


THE  LAST  FURLOUGH  233 

dences,  sociology,  etc.,  can  be  taught  as  well  as  anywhere 
else  in  the  East.  The  proposal  is  to  start  at  first  with  one 
hostel  for  Moslem  converts  on  a  small  scale.  We  under- 
stand that  a  dozen  suitable  ones  would  be  at  once  forth- 
coming. The  ablest  of  these  might  be  retained  after  his 
course  to  improve  the  staff,  until  at  length  we  have  a 
thoroughly  international  staff,  and,  consequently,  draw 
pupils  from  many  lands.  As  soon  as  such  a  school  is  set  on 
foot,  it  will  immediately  appear  that  no  better  place  could 
be  found  for  would-be  missionaries  to  be  trained  in  Arabic 
and  the  Koran ;  or  to  pick  up  helpful  fellow-workers  for 
the  field  to  which  they  will  subsequently  be  going. 

"  So,  too,  the  existence  of  such  a  school,  if  some  of  the 
more  general  lectures  were  open  to  Cairo  students, 
would  be  an  immense  draw  to  Azhar  students  and 
Government  and  Coptic  students.  One  hostel  would 
soon  not  be  sufficient.  And  by  degrees  each  mission  in 
Egypt  would  need  its  hostel,  and  in  this  way  a  university 
would  automatically  spring  up,  as  it  did  of  old.  The 
Nile  Press  would  then  turn  into  a  University  Press,  and 
Cairo  the  generating  centre  of  a  constructive  Arabic 
literature  for  the  Moslem  world." 

The  Cairo  Conference  itself,  when  it  took  place, 
very  naturally  found  it  difficult  to  make  any  pro- 
nouncement on  such  a  scheme  as  this.  But  resolutions 
were  passed  favouring  co-operation  in  missionary 
literature  and  in  the  training  of  European  missionaries, 
and  approving  of  the  inauguration  of  a  class  for  the 
training  of  converts  and  other  workers  from  different 
parts  of  the  Mohammedan  mission  field.  With  these 
resolutions,  and  others  from  his  own  Egypt  Mission 
Conference,  Thornton  went  home  armed,  taking  with 
him  Sheikh  Boulus,  whose  conversion  has  been  already 
narrated.  But  even  thus  impediinented,  he  added  to  his 


234  !>•  M.  THORNTON 

own  burden,  and  determined,  on  his  own  account,  to  try 
what  could  be  done  to  realise  his  dream  of  a  Christian 
College  in  Cairo. 

Thus  began  his  last  furlough,  on  which  he  embarked 
with  the  following  enthusiastic  words: — 

"I  need  say  no  more  to  show  you  that  God  is 
visibly  working  and  moving  the  minds  of  leading  men 
at  this  time.  It  is  a  time  of  unparalleled  opportunity 
for  this  country.  I  shall  indeed  have  a  message  to 
deliver  when  I  get  home  to  the  people  of  England. 
I  do  trust  that  Hardman  will  be  able  to  join  us  very 
soon,  so  that  I  may  be  able  to  get  much  needed  rest 
and  sleep  and  exercise  at  home,  to  set  me  up  for  the 
great  work  that  Hes  so  clearly  before  us  in  this  land." 

But  "  the  holiday  "  proved  six  months,  alas !  of  over- 
work, too  strenuous  thinking,  too  strenuous  endeavour. 
One  hundred  and  eighty-five  pages  of  business  letters, 
besides  memoranda,  written  sermons  and  addresses, 
involving  innumerable  journeys,  testify  to  his  idea  of 
taking  rest.  He  was  wholly  occupied  and  preoccupied 
with  the  work.  It  had  become  a  passion,  from  which 
there  was  literally  no  release  but  the  grave. 

But  it  is  impossible  to  follow  these  labours  in 
detail.  Mention  has  already  been  made  of  the  chief, 
though  not  all  the  objects  for  which  he  worked. 
And  as  though  these  were  not  enough,  he  threw 
himself  whole-heartedly  and  with  the  freshest  en- 
thusiasm into  aspects  of  Christian  work  at  home, 
with  which  he  had  of  old  identified  himself.  Thus 
he  attended  a  Public  Schools'  boys'  camp ;  he  went  to 
the  Students'  Summer  Conference  at  Conishead;  he 


D.   M.  THORNTON  AND  SHEIKH  BULUS  FAWZI. 

November  1906. 


THE  LAST  FURLOUGH  235 

went  down  and  spoke  to  the  undergraduates  of 
Oxford  and  Cambridge;  he  wrote  strongly  upon  the 
necessity  of  capturing  the  interest  and  support  of 
business  men  in  the  great  cause  of  world  evangelisa- 
tion; and,  in  almost  the  last  few  days,  we  find  him 
endeavouring,  by  letter  and  interview,  to  work  up 
what  he  calls  "a  rally"  of  younger  evangelical  clergy 
and  laymen  to  discuss  how  the  evangelical  school 
of  thought,  to  which  he  was  traditionally  and  by 
sympathy  most  deeply  attached  and  loyal,  might 
become  more  effective  and  better  serve  the  present 
generation.  "  The  work  "  pursues  him  to  the  departure 
platform  in  London;  letters  mark  the  stages  of  the 
last  journey  back  to  Egypt, — "  Paris  to  Marseilles, 
10  p.m.,"  "Marseilles"  (four  long  letters),  "  s.s. 
Schleswig"  "  Nearing  Alexandria  " ;  and,  on  "  the  very 
day  after  my  safe  arrival  with  the  family  and 
Sheikh  Boulus,"  he  begins  a  seven-page  letter,  which 
he  continues  of  "either  in  the  early  morning  or  in 
the  intervals  between  inaugurating  work"  for  the 
coming  autumn,  reverting  in  it  to  some  of  the  home 
problems,  which  he  had  been  working  at  till  the  end. 
Many  of  these  letters  are  of  considerable  interest, 
but  the  following  extract,  perhaps,  is  most  of  all  worth 
quoting  and  pondering.  It  concerns  an  old  favourite 
subject  of  his,  the  enlisting  of  "  business  men "  in  the 
great  employ: — 

"  I  hear  from that  you  have  practically  decided 

on    Liverpool    for    the    S.V.M.U.    Conference    in    Jan. 
1908.     There  is  certainly  plenty  of  interest  to  arouse 


236  D.  M.  THORNTON 

there.     tells  me  that  hardly  any  leading  church 

laymen  there  believe  in  the  supremacy  of  Christianity, 
or  in  the  universality  of  the  gospel.  I  hope  that  a 
strong  effort  will  be  made  to  enlist  the  interest  of  this 
kind  of  laity.  It  is  the  heads  of  shipping  firms  and 
cotton  merchants  that  need  winning  for  the  cause,  men 
who  could  endow  whole  missions  if  they  wished  to  do  so." 

And  the  following  may  be  taken  as  his  last  word  on 
the  problems  of  home  organisation  and  home  support : — 

"My  chief  concerns  with  regard  to  the  Conference 
are  twofold — (1)  How  to  present  the  missionary  appeal 
to  the  non-missionary  outgoing  section  of  students,  or 
to  the  civilians  who  are  going  abroad ;  (2)  How  to 
capture  the  Liverpool  laity  for  the  cause.  I  know 
you  will  probably  urge  that  these  two  objects  are 
outside  the  scope  of  the  gathering.  But  I  assure  you 
that  it  is  not  so.  I  remember  well  Rutter  Williamson 
slaving  at  nights  in  the  Mitre  Hotel  over  correspond- 
ence with  ministers  about  deputations  to  the  churches, 
and  I  recollect  his  saying  afterwards  that  he  did  not 
think  it  was  worth  the  effort  it  cost.  But  I  have  since 
visited  Liverpool  (after  ten  years'  absence),  and  find 
that  the  leading  merchants  are  unconvinced,  even  now, 
about  the  utility  or  necessity  of  missions.  I  say  that 
an  objective  should  be  to  convince  them  and  their 
younger  student  friends  in  college  who  are  going  to 
step  into  their  shoes,  for  without  their  financial  aid  in 
the  land  with  which  they  trade,  we  cannot  cope  with 
the  task  of  world-wide  evangelisation  in  this  generation. 

"  In  order  to  draw  them,  why  not  have  an  address  on 
Commerce  and  Missions,  by  the  ablest  layworker  in 
London  ?  Suggest  that  shipping  merchants  give  free 
passages  for  missionaries,  as  French  lines  do  for  priests 
and  nuns,  also  free  carriage  of  freight  to  missionary 
seaports.  Your  programme,  now  that  the  number  of 
volunteers  is  so  largely  increasing,  should  contain  a 
section  on  'how  to  obtain  and  maintain  local  support 


THE  LAST  FURLOUGH  237 

for  all  outgoing  missionaries.'  This  will  be  a  very 
pressing  problem  to  the  C.M.S.  candidate  next  year,  as 
well  as  those  of  other  societies.  Could  not  a  great 
extension  of  the  O.O.M.1  plan  be  taken  up  by  the 
societies,  if  only  it  were  put  forward  strongly  at  Liver- 
pool as  a  need  ?  But  you  must  have  your  Watchword 
ready  to  send  you  round  the  churches,  influencing  lay- 
men to  give  individual  support,  as  well  as  the  usual  society 
machinery  for  influencing  parishes,  associations,  etc. 

"Another  great  longing  I  have  in  mind,  for  which 
your  recent  teachers'  conference  at  Hampstead  has  been 
preparing  the  way,  is  that  this  next  conference  should 
sound  the  note  of  '  Specialists  for  Special  Work.' 

"  We  must  have  educational  work  in  future.  We 
must  have  linguists  and  scholars  for  literary  work. 
R.  Maconachie  has  struck  a  good  note  in  the  Indian 
Notes  in  the  C.M.S.  Review  lately,  in  pointing  out  the 
growing  complexity  of  the  work  in  India  and  similar 
lands.  Thus  for  half  the  now  Christian  world  we  now  need 
specialists,  and  only  from  the  colleges  can  we  get  them." 

One  quotation  has  purposely  been  kept  to  the  last, 
with  which  to  close  this  chapter.  It  is  the  paper 
he  read  at  a  special  meeting  of  senior  members 
of  the  university  at  Oxford  early  in  his  furlough,  at 
the  time  when  his  mind  was  most  full  of  the  project 
for  a  Christian  college.  It  is  selected  because  it 
carries  us  back  in  a  very  striking  way  to  many  of 
the  ideas  and  expressions  of  the  first  half  year  at 
Cairo;  and  because  it  is  also  the  final  and  the  com- 
pletest  manifestation  of  Thornton  as  visionary.  Vision- 
ary it  is,  and  yet  let  us  take  heed  as  we  read  it.  This 
Chapter  is  the  chapter  of  his  last  visions.  And  last 
visions  sometimes  come  true. 

1  "  Our  Own  Missionary." 


238  D.  M.  THORNTON 

"  CAIRO  AS  A  KEY  TO  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD. 

"THE  VARIATION  OF  WORLD  CENTRES. 

"  Nothing  to  the  student  of  history  is  a  more  remarkable 
phenomenon  than  to  observe  how  in  ancient  and  modern  times 
the  centres  of  commerce,  education,  and  religious  zeal  have 
been  constantly  variable.  And,  we  have  only  to  go  back 
twenty  years  of  time  and  recollect  what  parts  of  the  earth's 
surface  have  been  most  prominently  before  men's  minds, 
to  conclude  that  God  has  a  providential  purpose  in  bringing 
so  many  countries  in  the  world  one  by  one  before  the  notice 
of  civilised  nations.  It  is  only  twenty  years  ago  that  Stanley's 
trans-African  tour  led  to  the  partition  of  Africa  among  the 
Powers,  and  a  greatly  increased  impetus  to  the  evangelisation 
of  Central  Africa  being  given.  It  is  only  ten  years  since  the 
war  between  China  and  Japan,  which  has  had  such  momentous 
consequences  in  tha  Far  East.  It  is  less  than  ten  years  since 
the  reconquest  of  the  Soudan  and  the  war  with  the  Boers 
in  South  Africa,  both  of  which  have  focussed  the  attention 
of  the  Church  of  England  on  the  needs  of  Northern  and 
Southern  Africa.  While  India,  with  her  constant  droughts, 
famine,  and  pestilence,  has  been  silently  appealing  to  us  all. 

"RECENT  CONCENTRATION  ON  WORLD  CENTRES. 

"It  is  extremely  interesting  to  trace,  in  the  light  of  the 
providential  calls  that  have  been  given  during  the  last  fifty 
years  to  the  Church  of  Christ,  the  extent  and  the  way  in 
which  she  has  responded  to  those  calls.  Each  of  our  four 
nationalities  within  the  British  Isles  have  answered  special 
as  well  as  general  appeals.  Witness,  for  instance,  the  calls 
to  English,  Scottish,  and  Irish  universities,  which  have  come 
from  time  to  time,  beginning  with  that  statesmanlike  appeal  by 
Duff  to  Great  Britain,  to  provide  adequate  higher  education 
for  India  on  Christian  lines.  Did  this  not  lead  to  many 
Christian  higher  schools  and  colleges  in  India  being  started,  which 
still  exert  their  leavening  influence  to-day  ?  Have  we  not  also 
witnessed  in  Oxford  and  Cambridge  a  noble  response  to  the 
calls  of  Livingstone  in  the  founding  of  the  Universities'  Mission 


THE  LAST  FURLOUGH  239 

to  Central  Africa?  And  have  not  the  more  recent  efforts 
of  Cambridge  at  Delhi,  and  Oxford  at  Calcutta,  brought  home 
to  both  universities  the  needs  of  India,  and  the  complexity  of 
Hinduism  ? 

"Of  more  recent  years  the  Y.M.C.A.'s  of  England,  Scotland, 
and  Ireland,  but  to  a  much  larger  and  strenuous  degree  those 
of  the  North  American  continent,  have  been  sending  forth 
student  workers  to  one  after  another  of  the  centres  of  the 
Orient  (in  India,  Malaysia,  China,  and  Japan),  to  seek  to  reach 
the  educated  classes  of  the  East,  and  rally  the  Christian  forces 
in  the  student  world  to  unite  and  go  forward  for  the 
evangelisation  of  Asia.  And  nothing  awakens  throughout  the 
East  more  enthusiasm  than  to  read  of  the  recent  aspirations 
of  the  students  in  India,  China,  and  Japan. 

"THE  DOMINANT  LANGUAGES  OF  THE  WORLD. 

"There  is,  however,  another  important  way  of  approaching 
the  study  of  world-problems  in  the  light  of  the  kingdom  of 
God.  For  Almighty  God  not  only  changes  world-centres  but 
He  also  changes  the  world's  dominant  languages.  We  are  all 
familiar  with  the  argument  that  the  Greek  language  was  a 
divinely  prepared  instrument  for  enshrining  the  perfect 
revelation  of  God  in  Jesus  Christ.  We  all  remember  the  large 
part  that  Latin  has  played  in  the  mediaeval  history  of  Europe,  as 
the  medium  of  instruction  to  the  nations.  And,  as  Anglo- 
Saxons,  we  are  constantly  emphasising  the  wonderful  sphere  of 
the  English  language.  But  this  line  of  argument  will  bear 
considerable  extension.  And  it  ought  to  appeal  with  more 
force  to  the  classical  scholar  and  the  linguist  than  it  has 
hitherto  done. 

"  It  is  a  comparatively  easy  thing  to  discover  what  are  the 
dominant  languages  of  the  world  to-day,  and  hence  to  predict 
what  will  be  the  most  influential  media  of  evangelisation  in  the 
coming  generation  and  century.  Next  to  the  English  language 
Mandarin  Chinese  is  undoubtedly  spoken  by  the  greatest 
number  of  human  beings,  and  French,  Spanish,  and  German 
stand,  I  believe,  next  on  the  list.  But  when  areas  are  con- 
sidered, I  do  not  fear  to  be  contradicted  when  I  assert  that 
next  to  the  English  language,  Arabic  is  read  and  reverenced  over 
the  widest  area  of  the  earth's  surface. 


240  D.  M.  THORNTON 

"THE  SPHERB  OF  ARABIC  AND  ITS  CHALLENGE. 

"The  actual  number  of  those  who  at  present  speak  Arabic 
as  their  native  language  is  about  fifty  millions  of  souls,  but  is 
there  any  non-Christian  language  spreading  at  anything  like 
the  same  rate]  Look  at  its  phenomenal  progress  in  West 
Africa  and  the  Soudan !  Now  there  are  over  two  hundred  million 
Sunni  Mohammedans  in  the  world,  and,  the  more  educated 
they  become,  the  more  they  will  seek  acquaintance  with  their 
religious  language.  So  that  it  is  safe  to  say,  so  long  as  Islam 
exists  and  spreads  (alongside  of  a  corresponding  growth  in 
education)  so  long  will  Arabic  increase  in  influence  and  remain 
one  of  the  dominant  languages  of  the  world. 

"This  fact  has  been  appreciated  by  the  noble  roll  of 
German  and  American  Protestants  and  French  Roman  Catholic 
missionaries,  who  have  worked  hard  over  a  space  of  two 
generations,  to  lay  the  foundation  of  a  Christian  literature  in 
Arabic.  They  have  girded  themselves  to  the  task  of  acquiring 
what  many  recognise  as  being  the  hardest  language  in  the 
world.  They  have  given  us  two  noble  versions  of  the  Bible, 
and  our  prayer-book  in  Arabic.  They  have  published  many 
theological,  educational,  and  religious  works,  and  we  may 
derive  inspiration  from  them  as  well  as  admire  their  fortitude 
and  perseverance.  But  is  it  not  time  that  England's  interest 
were  more  than  academic1?  Is  there  not  a  Divine  call  to 
England's  best,  to  master  the  language  which  binds  together  the 
continents  of  Asia  and  Africa,  holds  the  key  to  the  hearts  of 
Moslem,  Jew,  and  Christian  in  Bible  lands,  and  will  undoubtedly 
spread  its  influence  every  year. 

"THE  APPEAL  OF  MOSLEM  LANDS. 

"  It  appears  to  me  that  the  hour  has  struck  for  the  educa- 
tional centres  (of  Europe,  and  more  especially  those)  of  the 
British  Isles,  to  hear  the  call  that  comes  from  Mohammedan 
lands  for  a  great  evangelistic  and  educational  campaign.  Up 
till  twenty-five  years  ago  there  was  no  Moslem  country  near 
the  centre  of  Moslem  pilgrimage,  and  speaking  the  Arabic 
language,  where  religious  toleration  was  to  be  found.  But  the 
British  occupation  has  now  been  at  work  in  Egypt  for  more 
than  half  a  generation,  British  protection  over  Egypt  has  at 
length  been  recognised  by  the  Sultan  of  Turkey,  and  Egypt 


THE  LAST  FURLOUGH  241 

holds  to-day  the  unique  position  of  being  the  haven  of  refuge 
for  persecuted  Christians,  and  outcast  Mohammedans,  as  well 
as  many  wealthy  Jews.  And  occupying,  as  it  does,  a  position 
almost  central  in  the  Moslem  world,  though  small  in  itself,  and 
possessed  of  less  than  ten  millions  of  souls,  Egypt  is  undoubtedly 
the  key  to  the  Moslem  problem  at  the  present  day. 

"THE  RECENT  CONFERENCE. 

"This  fact  was  most  emphatically  borne  witness  to  at  the 
recent  international  Conference  of  missionaries.  These  all 
testified  to  the  enormous  prestige  which  education  in  Cairo, 
and  knowledge  of  the  Arabic  language  and  the  Koran  in  the 
original,  would  be  to  both  Christian  workers  among  Moslems 
from  the  West  and  from  the  East.  Dr.  Grey,  from  Lahore, 
wrote  specially  to  the  Conference  to  suggest  that  facilities  be 
provided  in  Cairo  for  the  training  of  missionaries  in  Arabic, 
Koran,  and  Christian  Apologetics  for  Mohammedan  work.  An 
experienced  native  worker  from  the  Dutch  Reformed  Mission 
to  Arabia,  working  in  the  Persian  Gulf,  wrote  to  the  Chairman, 
urging  the  establishment  in  Cairo  of  some  special  course  of 
training  for  Oriental  Christians  in  the  Turkish  Empire  and 
elsewhere,  who  desired  to  give  their  lives  to  work  among 
Mohammedans.  While  Mr.  Gairdner  and  myself  quite 
independently  proposed  to  the  conference  the  starting  in  Cairo 
of  a  training-class  for  promising  Moslem  converts,  from  various 
Moslem  lands,  so  as  to  form  the  nucleus  of  a  counter-university 
to  the  Azhar,  from  which  Moslem  students  return  to  all  parts 
of  the  Mohammedan  world. 

"It  was  decided  at  the  conference  that  an  international 
committee  on  literature  should  be  formed,  with  Dr.  Weitbrecht, 
of  Lahore,  as  its  convener,  and  that  this  committee  should 
collect  and  collate  all  the  Christian  publications  formerly  or 
now  in  circulation  among  Moslems,  in  all  languages  and  in  all 
lands.  This  literature  is  to  be  subsequently  stored  in  the 
centre  where  it  will  be  of  most  use,  and  where  the  work  of 
publishing  for  Moslem  lands  is  most  actively  carried  on. 

"  Furthermore,  an  international  committee  was  formed  to  deal 

with  the  need   for  industrial  missions  for  Moslem   converts. 

The    first    effort    that   is   likely   to   take  shape  will   be   the 

establishment  of  such  an  institution  in  Egypt,  where  refugee 

16 


242  D.  M.  THORNTON 

converts,  especially  those   from  the  Turkish  Empire,   can  be 
satisfactorily  employed. 

"  With  regard  to  the  international  training  class,  the  C.M.S. 
missionaries,  who  put  forward  the  suggestion,  were  advised 
by  representatives  from  many  missionary  societies  to  start 
the  work,  and  promised  students  for  training  from  many 
different  lands.  Accordingly  the  C.M.S.  missionaries  have 
requested  the  Society  in  London  to  allow  them  to  open  such 
a  class  by  the  New  Year  of  1907,  if  a  university  man  of  sufficient 
ability  is  forthcoming  as  a  reinforcement  to  the  work  in  Cairo 
this  autumn.  It  only  therefore  remains  to  find  the  man 
who  will  feel  it  to  be  a  call  from  God  to  devote  his  life 
to  the  evangelising  of  the  students  of  Cairo,  and  later  on 
the  training  of  such  as  are  found  suitable  for  direct  work  for 
Christ  in  Egypt  and  other  Moslem  lands. 

"THE  EDUCATED  CLASSES  IN  CAIRO. 

"But  a  few  words  are  needed  at  this  juncture  about  the 
educational  outlook  in  Cairo,  to  present  in  its  fullest  force 
the  appeal  that  comes  from  this  the  greatest  metropolis  of 
Islam  to  the  Church  at  home.  Cairo  not  only  has  a  unique 
prestige  in  the  Moslem  world  to-day,  but  is  also  a  remarkable 
centre  in  which  to  evangelise  educated  Mohammedans,  and 
from  which  to  spread  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  throughout 
the  Moslem  world. 

"In  proportion  as  Egypt  becomes,  as  it  is  fast  becoming 
under  British  influence,  the  most  enlightened,  progressive, 
and  educated  part  of  the  nearer  East,  so  will  Cairo  increasingly 
become  a  centrifugal  and  a  centripetal  force.  It  is  of 
paramount  importance,  therefore,  that  the  highest  intellects 
and  the  ablest  Moslems  of  the  coming  generation  be  reached 
for  Christ ;  and  it  is  vital  to  the  welfare  of  the  Christian 
Church  in  Egypt  that  Oriental  Christians  as  well  as  converts 
from  Islam,  be  able  to  hold  their  own  among  their  Moslem 
compatriots.  This  has  been  nobly  done  for  Syria  by  the 
efforts  of  the  American  educational  missionaries.  But  no 
Christian  institution  of  higher  learning  as  yet  exists  in  Egypt, 
and  the  Christian  population  is  compelled  to  fall  back  upon  the 
Government  schools  of  law,  medicine,  and  engineering,  where 
the  non-observance  of  Sunday  as  a  sacred  day,  and  the  absence 


THE  LAST  FURLOUGH  243 

of  any  Christian  instruction  or  rights  of  entrance  to  the 
Churches,  is  leading  to  the  de-Christianising  of  the  most 
promising  Christians  of  the  rising  generation.  It  is  proposed, 
therefore,  that  Churchmen  in  Oxford  and  Cambridge  should 
form  a  Universities  Mission  to  Cairo,  whose  object  would 
be  to  supplement  the  higher  education  of  the  Egyptian 
Government,  by  the  establishing  of  a  Christian  College  with 
an  Arts  course,  no  such  course  being  included  as  yet  in  the 
Government  programme.  It  is  proposed  that  such  a  mission 
should  be  conducted  in  connection  with  the  C.M.S.,  much  as 
the  Delhi  mission  in  India  is  in  connection  with  the  S.P.G. 

"AN  ANGLICAN  COLLEGE  IN  CAIRO. 

"  What  would  be  the  field  from  which  such  a  Christian 
institution  would  draw  its  students  ?  Our  best  guide  will  be 
the  Syrian  Protestant  College  of  Beirout,  which  now  draws  over 
a  hundred  Moslem  students  from  Syria  and  Egypt,  while  its 
six  hundred  alumni  come  from  as  far  north  as  the  Greek 
Islands,  and  as  far  south  as  Upper  Egypt,  and  as  far  east  as 
the  Persian  Gulf.  May  we  not  confidently  expect  that  a  still 
greater  future  would  be  in  store  for  an  Anglican  College,  to 
which  Oriental  Christians  would  far  more  readily  send  their 
sons,  and  which  Mohammedan  parents  would  recognise  as 
being  thoroughly  English?  Moreover,  such  a  college  would 
be  supplementary  to  existing  Coptic,  Roman  Catholic,  and 
Protestant  educational  institutions,  none  of  which  supply  higher 
than  secondary  education.  And,  if  ever  the  time  were  ripe  for 
such  an  institution,  it  is  now,  for  both  Moslem  and  Coptic 
Egyptians  are  at  present  very  dissatisfied  with  the  Government 
system  of  education,  secular  as  it  is  to  the  Christian,  and  only 
mildly  Moslem  to  the  Mohammedan.  The  lay-leaders  of  the 
Coptic  Church  have  lately  taken  alarm,  and  are  just  now 
levelling  up  their  primary  and  secondary  schools,  and  longing 
for  the  time  when  they  will  be  able  to  provide  higher  education 
as  well.  They  have  also  appealed  to  us  to  use  our  influence 
with  the  British  authorities  in  Egypt,  to  secure  the  right  of 
entrance  to  primary  provided  schools,  but  I  am  sorry  to  have  to 
sav  that  the  Government  educational  authorities  have  answered 
us  with  a  regretful  non-possumus.1 

1  But  see  p.  251. 


244  D-  M.  THORNTON 

"APPEAL  TO  OXFORD  AND  CAMBRIDGE. 

"  I  am  now  home  in  England  to  see  what  can  be  done.  For 
this  purpose  I  have  come  to  Oxford  to-day,  and  am  to  address 
some  senior  members  of  Cambridge  on  Friday.  I  see  before 
me  two  alternative  pictures — the  one  a  growingly  prosperous 
realm  under  British  protection  in  the  heart  of  the  Moslem 
world,  with  Cairo  her  capital,  sending  forth  thousands  of 
teachers  of  Islam  to  every  land,  and  hundreds  of  secularised 
administrators  in  days  to  come,  into  the  surrounding  countries. 
I  see  her  Christian  population  handicapped  in  the  race  with 
Islam,  and  many  of  her  choicest  sons— as  some  are  already 
doing — becoming  Mohammedans.  I  see  the  principles  of  such 
Moslem  reformers  as  Syed  Ameer  Ali,  combined  with  the 
fanaticism  of  a  growing  Pan-Islamism,  dominating  the  land, 
sooner  later  to  produce  another  revolution,  and  possibly  a 
world-movement  under  the  banner  of  Islam,  which  will  put 
back  the  cause  of  evangelisation  of  Moslem  lands  for  centuries. 

"  But  there  is  a  brighter  and  a  perfectly  possible  picture — 
with  Cairo  as  a  centre  of  Christian  light  and  learning,  a 
metropolis  to  which  all  Oriental  Christians  and  many  Moham- 
medans will  strive  to  send  their  sons  for  their  highest  education, 
a  workshop  whence  divinely  hewn  tools  can  be  sent  as 
instruments  of  blessing  throughout  the  Orient,  a  press  which 
turns  out  Christian  literature  in  many  a  Mohammedan  language, 
and  not  least,  a  home  where  Christ  is  known  and  loved,  and 
followed  and  adored. 

"  Which  shall  it  be  ?  It  rests  with  Oxford  and  Cambridge 
to  decide." 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  LAST  YEAR 

IT  is  a  curious  fact  that  Thornton  could  hardly  be 
dragged  from  home  at  the  end  of  this  last  furlough, 
so  great  did  he  feel  the  call  to  stay  some  time  longer 
and  work  for  the  cause  in  England.  The  loss  of  the 
central  depot  that  the  Society  had  made  its  headquarters 
for  many  years,  and  the  total  absence  of  freehold 
headquarters,  made  him  feel  that  he  could  perhaps 
better  serve  the  cause  by  working  at  home  for  the 
purchase  of  a  central  site,  and  the  erection  of  premises 
in  Cairo,  as  well  as  enlisting  the  enthusiasm  of 
Christian  people  in  the  cause  of  Moslem  missions. 
But  his  wishes  in  this  direction  were  overruled,  and 
with  a  strange  and  unwonted  reluctance  he  returned 
to  Cairo,  to  face  the  prospect  of  working  out  a 
"literature  idea"  in  utterly  unsuitable  premises,  with 
the  possibility  of  losing  Bait  Arabi  Pasha  as  well ! 
Such  are  some  of  the  paralysing  difficulties  attending 
work  in  a  city  where  rents  seem  to  be  always  rising, 
and  where  landlords  can  hardly  be  induced  to  sign 
leases  of  more  than  one  year's  duration. 

There  were  other  disappointments.     In  spite  of  all 

MB 


246  D.  M.  THORNTON 

his  efforts,  no  reinforcements  were  forthcoming.  This 
one  fact  settled  the  fate  of  each  and  every  one  of 
the  schemes  for  advance  and  expansion  described  in 
the  last  chapter.  They  must  still  continue  to  be 
dreams. 

And,  when  he  set  to  work  in  Cairo,  just  before 
the  Christmas  season  began,  the  atmosphere  of  dis- 
couragement seemed  to  become  intensified.  He  had 
hardly  got  to  work  when  he  was  entirely  incapac- 
itated by  a  prostrating  attack  of  dengy  fever,  which 
was  then  epidemic  in  Cairo.  This  spoiled  the  effort 
he  was  preparing  to  make  to  advertise  the  new  Book 
Depot,  now,  for  the  time  being,  most  unsuitably  housed 
in  the  ground-floor  of  Bait  Arabi  Pasha. 

And  after  recovering  from  this,  he  almost  imme- 
diately had  a  bad  accident,  a  fall  from  his  bicycle  when 
going  at  a  high  speed,  by  which  he  broke  his  arm 
and  suffered  a  very  severe  shock.  It  was  the  last 
of  a  mysterious  series  of  blows,  which  seemed 
to  restrain  him  from  doing  any  effective  work  in 
Cairo  the  whole  winter.  And  to  lose  the  winter  in 
Cairo  is  almost  to  lose  the  year. 

Thus  darkly  did  his  last  year  dawn.  His  face 
became  drawn  and  aged.  His  physical  energy  seemed 
to  have  suffered  a  shock.  More  than  once  he  said, 
"I  feel  an  old  man  .  .  ."  It  was  saddening  to 
watch. 

But  the  blocking  of  the  avenues  in  Cairo  could 
have  no  other  effect  on  a  Thornton  than  to  set  him 
looking  for  new  ones.  The  limitations  besetting  the 


THE  LAST  YEAR  247 

direct  work  of  the  Society  forced  his  restless  energy 
to  go  farther  afield  and  seek  for  methods  of  indirect 
influence.  And,  as  soon  as  he  was  partially  healed 
of  his  arm,  we  find  him  paying  a  round  of  visits  to 
all  the  Coptic  societies,  with  their  young  laymen 
leaders,  and  the  Coptic  churches,  with  their  prelates 
and  priests,  trying  to  help,  encourage,  and  suggest. 

"  But  there  is  also  quite  a  movement  going  on  among 
the  younger  Copts  in  Cairo.  It  is  a  regular  thing  now 
to  have  sermons  on  Friday  and  Sunday  afternoons  in 
the  church  at  Faggala.  These  are  attended  by  fifty  to 
sixty  young  men.  There  are  five  young  preachers,  and 
several  more  who  are  desirous  of  learning  how  to 
preach.  I  try  to  attend  their  service  every  now  and 
then,  to  back  them  up.  And  they  have  now  opened  a 
reading-room  and  club  of  their  own.  The  other  day  I 
brought  Sheikh  Boulus  and  a  Jewish  convert  to  the 
service.  Boulus  urged  their  leader  afterwards  to  open 
the  meetings  to  Moslems,  and  their  Committee  has  since 
decided  to  do  so.  This  is  a  new  thing  altogether. 

"  This  '  Society  of  Faith '  was  not  countenanced  at  all 
at  first  by  the  clergy,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Patriarch,  but  now  I  see  a  new  desire  in  the  clergy  to 
help,  and  we  hope  soon  to  see  branches  in  at  least  four 
Cairo  churches.  There  are  several  in  the  provinces. 
A  few  days  ago  a  new  society,  called  '  The  Christian 
Bond,'  has  been  formed  by  one  of  the  staff  of  the  Coptic 
Theological  College,  for  students  of  the  Higher  Schools. 
They  have  their  own  monthly  paper.  All  these  students 
used  to  attend  our  weekly  meetings.  It  is  interesting, 
therefore,  to  see  that  they  have  so  soon  borne  fruit  in 
such  initiative. 

"  A  second  teacher  of  the  Theological  College  has  got 
a  third  society,  with  several  branches,  more  closely 
denominational  than  the  former.  He  has  also  proved 
to  have  real  literary  ability,  and  edits  quite  alone 


248  D.  M.  THORNTON 

the  best  monthly  religious  magazine  of  the  Copts.  I 
heard  him  preach  on  Coptic  Christmas  evening  at  the 
Cathedral." 

To  this  short  period,  then  is  owed  some  of  the 
most  valuable  work  he  ever  did,  some  of  the  most 
fruitful  friendships  he  ever  formed.  The  influence  of 
his  self-abandonment  to  God,  and  his  ceaseless  thought 
for  the  Kingdom,  on  some  of  the  younger  Coptic 
leaders  will  be,  under  God,  one  of  the  things  that 
abide. 

And  now  seemel  the  God-given  opportunity  for 
doing  what  for  long  he  had  been  watching  his  chance 
to  do.  In  the  chapter  on  Orient  and  Occident  we 
saw  how  very  early  and  clearly  Thornton  had  foreseen 
that  evangelistic  visits  to  the  provinces  were  involved 
and  necessitated  by  this  work  of  the  magazine.  And 
now  nothing  seemed  to  stand  in  the  way,  nay,  a  hand 
seemed  to  have  pointed  to  this  open  door,  by  closing 
the  others.  Thornton  entered  it,  and  he  found  it  led 
to  spacious  fields  of  opportunity.  In  them  he  re- 
mained, and  to  them,  as  we  shall  see,  he  resolved  to 
dedicate  his  efforts  for  several  years  to  come.  The 
missionary  statesman,  dealing  (as  we  saw)  in  con- 
tinents, in  lands  near  and  far,  has  played  his  part. 
For  the  moment  that  part  is  over,  and,  in  almost 
imperceptible  transition,  the  statesman  becomes  the 
man  of  action,  ready  to  throw  his  entire  energies 
into  realising  a  part  of  the  scheme  he  himself  had 
planned. 

A  part,  but  a  great  part.      That   work   can   hardly 


THE  LAST  YEAR  249 

be  called  a  "  local "  one,  or  narrow  in  its  outlook, 
which  involved,  as  its  objective,  the  'evangelisation  of 
the  Moslems  of  Egypt  and,  if  the  way  were  opened, 
of  the  Soudan;  and  which  carried  with  it  the  en- 
couraging and  the  assisting  of  the  National  Coptic 
Church  to  awaken  again,  and  arise  to  do  its  part 
in  the  great  cause ! 

For  those  were  the  two  main  lines  of  work  that 
extended  before  him,  and  from  this  point  on  to  the 
end  the  two  merged  into  one. 

In  the  preliminary  sketch  of  Egypt  as  a  mission 
field,  the  position  and  possibilities  of  this  ancient 
Church,  which  proudly  claims  the  succession  of  the 
Patriarchate  of  Alexandria,  the  episcopal  chair  of 
Saint  Mark,  have  been  sufficiently  sketched.  And  in 
the  intervening  chapters  numerous  allusions  have  been 
made  to  the  way  in  which  Thornton  from  time  to 
time  made  his  goodwill  and  his  influence  felt  in  that 
Church.  Many  things  had  combined  to  encourage 
him.  At  the  beginning  of  Orient  and  Occident  he 
had  written — 

"  The  Coptic  press  is  ready  to  write  or  insert  what 
we  like  in  the  same.  The  leading  Coptic  laity  in  Egypt 
are  delighted  with  the  line  we  are  taking.  The  Coptic 
Patriarch  tells  us  '  that  he  sees  nothing  that  is  not  for 
the  building  up  of  the  Church '  in  our  paper,  which  he 
regularly  reads.  The  Coptic  bishops  are  all  asking  now 
to  read  our  Arabic  theological  works,  those  which  I 
have  brought  back  from  Jerusalem,  the  labours  of  these 
gallant  German  missionaries  in  Palestine.  The  Coptic 
priests  and  monks  are  inviting  us  everywhere  to  go  and 
preach  to  them,  and  the  ministry  of  our  few  Moslem 


250  D.  M.  THORNTON 

converts  and  Christian  catechists  are  very  acceptable  in 
their  churches.  The  picked  young  Coptic  students  in 
Cairo  have  begun  to  gather  round  us  this  winter  as 
their  advisers,  and  the  younger  members  of  the  staff'  of 
the  Coptic  theological  college  have  become  our  friends. 

"  All  this  has  been  so  spontaneous  and  so  uncalled 
for,  save  that  it  is  due  to  the  casting  of  our  bread  upon 
the  waters,  that  we  are  almost  overwhelmed,  and  can 
only  say, '  Is  not  the  Lord  gone  out  before  us  ?  Behold 
I  work  a  work  in  your  days,  saith  the  Lord ;  a  work 
which  ye  shall  in  no  wise  believe  if  one  declare  it  unto 
you.'  How  true  these  words  are  to-day  ! " 

And  the  thought  of  these  things  leads  him  to  write 
enthusiastically — 

"  Hitherto  I  have  always  felt  that  I  had  my  fingers 
in  all  the  threads  of  the  problem  of  evangelisation  of 
Egypt,  and  that  progress  would  be  upon  slow  and  pain- 
ful lines.  But  so  many  unaccountable  things  have  been 
happening  lately  in  so  many  different  quarters  that  one 
can  only  trace  the  hand  of  God  in  it  all,  and  hear  the 
sound  of  abundance  of  rain." 

He  did  not  indeed  exaggerate  the  reality  of  the 
friendly  relations  which  various  causes  had  contri- 
buted to  set  up  between  the  missionaries  and  the 
different  sections  of  the  Coptic  Church  mentioned 
above.  Thornton  took  the  greatest  pains  to  keep 
au  courant  with  Coptic  affairs,  and  well  was  he 
rewarded. 

"The  second  most  important  event  has  been  the 
forming  of  a  Coptic  representative  lay  council,  which 
is  composed  of  four  sub-committees — (1)  on  Education; 
(2)  Churches  and  Alms ;  (3)  on  Property ;  (4)  on  Legal 


THE  LAST  YEAR  251 

matters.  I  find  on  investigation  that  nearly  one- 
half  of  these  laymen  are  subscribers  to  0.  and  0. 
The  rest  are  being  sent  copies  of  the  paper  also. 
Now  the  committee  on  education  has  taken  in  hand 
the  whole  question,  and  brought  out  a  comprehensive 
programme,  including  general  religious  education  for 
all  their  sixty  (or  more)  primary  schools.  They  are 
hoping  also  entirely  to  reform  the  standard  of  candi- 
dates for  the  priesthood,  and  no  priest  is  in  future  to 
be  ordained  who  has  not  passed  satisfactorily  through 
the  Cairo  Theological  College,  the  curriculum  of  which 
is  to  be  widened  and  improved.  They  have  resolved, 
also,  to  develop  existing  provincial  schools  into  second- 
ary schools,  and  to  have  in  Cairo  a  higher  school,  which 
will  be  able  to  compete  with  those  of  the  Government 
in  due  course.  If  these  measures  are  really  able  to  be 
carried  out,  it  seems  to  me  to  be  wholly  futile  for  us 
to  try  to  develop  either  primary  or  secondary  education 
ourselves.  And  we  shall  be  much  wiser  in  seeking  to 
give  our  moral  support  to  the  thorough  carrying  out  of 
these  resolutions." 

He  was  also  able  to  give  most  valuable  aid  in  their 
appeal  to  the  Government  to  allow  the  teaching  of  the 
Christian  religion  to  Christian  boys  in  the  Government 
schools.  The  appeal  was  successful,  and  now  the  Bible 
is  taught  in  the  last  hour  of  school  by  Coptic  deacons 
at  the  expense  of  the  Church.  Such  is  the  present 
solution  of  the  "Education  Question,"  which  exists, 
it  thus  appears,  in  Egypt  as  much  as  England.  It 
will  still  be  a  perfectly  legitimate  thing  to  aim  at 
getting  the  expenses  of  this  religious  education  shifted 
on  to  the  Government,  as  the  Copts,  who  pay  their 
full  share  of  the  taxes  of  the  country,  are  at  present 
in  this  way  contributing  to  the  teaching  of  Islam  to 


252  D.  M.  THORNTON 

the   Moslem   boys,   without   any   advantage    to    them- 
selves. 

This  success,  needless  to  say,  not  only  delighted 
Thornton,  but  at  once  to  him  suggested  new  opera- 
tions. He  began  to  read  all  the  existing  text-books 
for  religious  instruction,  with  a  view  to  making  a 
memorandum  to  advise  the  Coptic  Committee  in  the 
supremely  important  opportunity  that  now  lay  to  its 
hand.  And  he  writes  (very  characteristically) — 

"  It  has  become  important,  however,  at  once  to  visit  all 
the  leading  Coptic  and  Government  schools  in  Upper 
and  Lower  Egypt,  to  study  their  needs  and  to  see 
whether  suitable  teachers  are  to  be  found  in  each  place 
for  giving  proper  Christian  instruction.  The  next  thing, 
of  course,  will  be  to  provide  for  the  training  of  teachers. 
In  this,  I  hope,  we  shall  be  able  to  help." 

This,  then,  was  yet  another  of  the  converging  lines 
of  guidance  that  pointed  him  to  the  regions  south  of 
Cairo. 

His  aim  in  making  these  itinerations  in  the  provinces 
of  Egypt  was,  first,  to  follow  up  the  work  of  Orient 
and  Occident  by  meeting  its  subscribers  face  to  face; 
secondly,  to  hold  evangelistic  meetings;  thirdly,  to 
help  the  Copts  in  the  various  centres  in  every  way 
possible. 

Through  all,  and  over  all,  was  the  desire  to  preach 
Christ.  He  already  dreamed  of  forming  a  sort  of 
evangelistic  committee,  composed  of  earnest  men  from 
all  the  Christian  communities,  which  should  arrange 
for  conventions  and  missions  in  different  parts  of 


THE  LAST  YEAR  253 

He    longed    for   a    revival    over    the    whole 


"  I  see  a  real  awakening  beginning  in  the  Coptic 
Church,  and  before  long  I  hope  to  see  a  united  mission, 
such  as  the  Tokyo  Mission,  made  possible  between  the 
Churches.  A  year  ago  it  seemed  impossible." 

And  in  the  middle  of  his  work  in  Upper  Egypt 
the  same  idea  recurs — 

"  I  think  by  trying  to  help  all  the  Churches  herein  cited 
I  have  got  a  better  entrance  than  if  I  had  rigidly  decided 
only  to  help  one.  My  plan  of  following  an  evangelistic 
council  still  seems  to  be  the  best  plan." 

And  his  final  objective  was,  as  the  final  objective  of 
his  Society  was  and  is,  the  evangelisation  of  Moslems. 
This  direct  aim  was  never  lost  sight  of  or  relaxed 
for  a  moment.  The  indirect  methods  were  only  made 
possible  through  and  by  keeping  ON  working  at  the 
direct  object.  Thornton  knew  that  the  whole  of  the 
unique  influence  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society 
upon  the  other  Christian  bodies  in  Egypt  was  entirely 
due  to  their  knowledge  that  that  direct  aim  was  its 
only  aim.  No  prejudice  therefore  existed  against  its 
combining  indirect  with  direct  methods — influencing 
Christians  as  well  as  influencing  Moslems.  Thornton 
kept  his  eye  fixed  steadily  upon  both  aspects  of  the 
question.  Thus,  in  a  letter  to  the  Bishop  of  Salis- 
bury, he  says — 

"The  difficulty  with  which  our  C.M.S.  Mission  in 
Cairo  had  to  face  has  not  been  one  of  principle, 
but  due  to  deliberate  limitations  in  our  work  hitherto 


254  D.  M.  THORNTON 

to  evangelising  the  Moslems.  All  our  methods  of  work 
have  so  far  been  adopted,  whether  direct  or  indirect, 
with  the  Mohammedan  population  as  our  objective,  and 
it  has  been  on  this  ground  that  we  have  been  tolerated 
by  the  Presbyterians  and  increasingly  respected  by  the 
Copts.  We  have  been  able  honestly  to  say  that  it  is 
not  our  object  to  start  another  eclectic  church  in  Egypt. 
We  are  anxious  to  win  Moslems,  and  are  ready  to 
minister  to  our  Moslem  converts  and  our  workers, 
whether  Coptic,  Orthodox,  Catholic,  or  Protestant,  who 
are  engaged  with  us  in  working  for  this  object,  either 
educationally  or  in  medical,  literary,  and  evangelistic 
work.  But  we  do  not,  unless  we  are  urged  to  do  so, 
perform  any  ecclesiastical  function  which  intentionally 
deprives  them  of  any  future  ministrations  in  their  own 
churches. 

"  There  is  no  doubt  that  we  English  clergy  can  do  a 
very  great  deal  to  encourage  and  quicken  the  Copts,  not 
only  in  their  own  Christian  life,  but  in  witnessing  to 
Moslems.  I  quite  feel  that  in  the  provinces,  especially  in 
Upper  Egypt,  this  must  be  our  method  of  reaching  the 
Moslems." 

Such  was  the  situation  that  prevailed,  such  the 
aspirations  and  hopes  which  filled  Thornton's  mind 
when  he  left  Cairo  in  the  spring  of  1907  for  Keneh 
in  Upper  Egypt.  Pain,  disappointment,  and  weariness 
were  shaken  off.  In  this  tour — the  Indian  summer 
of  his  short  life — he  renewed  his  youth.  He  went 
off  full  of  purpose,  forgetting  the  friend  who  was 
seeing  him  off  in  his  eagerness  to  start  his  "fishing" 
in  a  carriage-full  of  officers  before  the  train  had 
even  started.  He  worked  like  a  giant  during  his 
itinerations,  and  he  came  back  from  the  first  and 
second  bronzed,  refreshed,  full  of  life  and  hope,  new 


THE  LAST  YEAR  255 

horizons  opening,  new  visions  of  usefulness,  new  ways 
suggested  to  accomplishment  of  old  ideas.  At  last 
some  years  of  work  without  friction,  because  within 
the  limits  of  the  strength  and  means  at  his  disposal, 
seemed  to  lie  before  him.  Yet  it  was  just  then  that 
the  Hand  of  God  quietly  closed  the  volume  of  his 
earthly  life,  and  called  him  hence. 

The  biographer  has  nothing  to  do,  in  connection 
with  this  last  tour,  but  give  the  vivid  accounts  which 
he  himself  wrote.  After  the  first  two  itinerations  he 
returned  and  laid  certain  conclusions  before  the 
Committee,  and  formulated  certain  plans.  A  word 
or  two  on  these  will  be  said  in  their  place,  and  then 
his  own  account  of  the  last  journey  will  be  given, 
from  which  he  only  returned  to  lie  down  and  die. 

TWO  VISITS   TO   UPPER  EGYPT. 
By  D.  M.  THORNTON. 

"  Of  the  tens  of  thousands  of  tourists  who  year  by  year  visit 
Luxor  and  Assouan  and  other  famous  sites  in  Upper  Egypt,  it 
is  to  be  feared  that  as  yet  few  have  had  time  to  study  the 
needs  of  the  present-day  Egyptians  from  a  spiritual  point  of 
view,  though  all  visitors  are  entranced  by  what  they  learn 
about  the  ancient  Egyptians.  But  it  seems  to  the  writer  that 
they  will,  at  any  rate,  welcome  what  he  has  to  tell,  after  eight 
years  in  Egypt,  about  the  descendants  of  those  wonderful 
giants  of  old,  and  of  their  longings  after  a  more  abundant  life. 

"We  of  the  C.M.S.  in  Egypt  have  so  long  been  absorbed 
with  the  problem  of  evangelising  the  great  Moslem  city  of  Cairo 
with  our  little  band  of  workers,  that  we  have  not  till  recently 
known  or  realised  the  need  of  the  peoples  in  Upper  Egypt. 
We  have  been  struck  with  the  immense  needs  of  the  six 
million  souls  of  the  Delta,  of  whom  over  ninety  per  cent,  are 


256  D.  M.  THORNTON 

Moslems,  but  we  have  have  hitherto  assumed  that  the  five 
million  souls  of  Upper  Egypt  were  being  reached,  and  have  not 
even  so  much  as  visited  the  larger  towns  in  each  province, 
except  when  on  a  holiday  some  of  us  have  been  tourists  of 
the  tourists,  and  have  become  immersed  in  the  attractions  of 
Egyptology. 

"  However,  the  launching  of  Orient  and  Occident  upon  the 
educated  world  of  Egypt  two  years  ago  has  led  to  a  point 
of  contact  being  established  between  ourselves  and  Coptic 
Christians  and  Moslem  brethren  in  more  than  fifty  towns 
between  Cairo  and  Assouan,  and  so  it  was  obvious  that,  sooner 
or  later,  our  readers  must  be  visited,  and  the  handshake  follow 
our  weekly  message.  Last  summer  we  sent  out  one  of  our 
oldest  and  most  trusted  Egyptian  workers  to  visit  all  the  places 
where  there  are  subscribers  throughout  the  land.  He  spent 
three  months  in  Upper  Egypt,  finding  friends  wherever  he 
went,  and  preparing  the  way  for  the  missionary  to  follow. 
Everywhere  he  circulated  publications  of  our  Mission  for 
Moslems,  and  of  the  Palestine  Mission  for  Christians,  and, 
while  calling  on  subscribers  for  their  annual  subscriptions, 
found  many  opportunities  for  preaching  the  gospel,  exhorting 
to  righteousness  of  life,  holding  conversations  with  Moslem 
readers,  and  acquainting  Coptic  priests  and  bishops  with  our 
desire  to  evangelise  the  Moslems. 

"The  distance  by  rail  from  Cairo  to  Assouan  is  about  560 
miles.  It  is  roughly  divided  into  three  portions — Cairo  to 
Assiut  (240),  Assiut  to  Luxor  (200),  and  Luxor  to  Assouan 
(120).  This  paper  will  only  deal  with  Assiut  to  Assouan, 
a  distance  of  320  miles.  A  subsequent  report  later  on  in  the 
year  will,  I  hope,  cover  the  remainder  of  this  great  distance, 
which  in  itself,  I  suppose,  is  about  as  great  as  from  London  to 
Darlington,  while  my  tours  already  accomplished  beyond  equal 
from  London  to  Carlisle. 

"  It  must,  however,  be  remembered  that  the  average  breadth 
of  the  Nile  valley  is  not  more  than  ten  miles,  and  between 
Luxor  and  Assouan  it  becomes  in  places  very  narrow  indeed. 
Still,  it  may  safely  be  said  that  at  least  one  town  or  large 
village  (of  a  size  which  we  should  call  a  town  in  England)  is 
to  be  found  for  every  few  miles  of  the  railway  and  the  river, 
either  close  to  the  one  or  the  other,  or  hugging  the  desert  and 
the  rocky  cliifs  on  either  side ;  the  average  population  working 


THE  LAST  YEAR  257 

out  at  1000  per  square  mile  and  about  10,000  per  linear  mile, 
i.e.  per  mile  of  the  Nile  valley. 

"  I.  FIKST  VISIT. — I  determined  as  far  as  possible  to  work 
with  the  support  of  the  leaders  of  the  Coptic  Church.  I 
commenced  by  visiting  the  city  of  Kena,  the  provincial  capital 
of  the  province,  of  which  Luxor  is  the  best-known  town,  which 
contains  30,000  people,  and  is  about  twelve  hours  by  rail  from 
Cairo.  The  population  of  this  province  alone  numbers  three- 
quarters  of  a  million.  It  has  two  married  American  missionaries 
and  two  lady  educational  missionaries,  all  residing  in  Luxor 
(two  hours  distant  by  train  from  Kena).  It  contains  three 
Presbyterian  native  pastors,  who  have  about  500  communicants 
connected  with  their  congregations,  gathered  out  from  the 
Copts,  out  of  a  population  of  about  150,000  Copts  and  600,000 
Moslems  in  the  province, 

"  I  was  attracted  thither  by  the  invitation  of  the  Coptic 
Metran  (Metropolitan  Bishop),  who  asked  me  when  I  visited 
Upper  Egypt  to  be  sure  and  come  to  Kena.  And  no  words 
can  describe  the  kindness  which  I  received,  or  the  readiness 
with  which  he  went  out  of  his  way  to  prepare  me  a  suitable 
place  for  large  evangelistic  meetings  to  which  all  were  invited, 
from  the  Moslem  Mudir  (the  governor)  down  to  the  school 
children.  And  the  three  nights  upon  which  I  preached  to 
the  people  for  more  than  an  hour  on  the  story  of  the  patriarchs, 
and  the  life  and  death  and  resurrection  of  our  Blessed  Lord, 
will  ever  be  memorable  to  me ;  for  they  were  the  first  at  which 
I  have  seen  men  weeping  at  the  gospel  message  in  Egypt,  and 
they  were  attended  by  hundreds  of  men,  women,  and  children 
alike.  Our  colporteur-evangelist,  who  visited  the  place  again 
for  a  few  days  on  his  return  journey,  writes  that  all  the  people 
are  longing  for  me  to  go  back  to  them  again ;  that  those  who 
were  absent  from  the  town  at  the  time  have  openly  expressed 
their  regrets  at  having  been  away ;  and  that  even  the  Moslems, 
who  were  present  in  numbers,  are  saying,  'We  have  never 
seen  and  never  heard  greater  news  than  this.'  In  short,  the 
whole  town  is  stirred  to  inquire  into  the  truth  of  Christianity. 
But  more  than  this,  the  noble  Metran  himself,  with  whom  I 
had  extempore  prayer  before  the  meeting,  is  stirred  up  to 
renewed  energy,  and  has  got  a  real  blessing  in  his  own  soul. 
Lastly,  by  means  of  Orient  and  Occident,  we  are  able  to  keep 
in  touch  with  nearly  all  the  Government  employees  in  the 
17 


258  D.  M.  THORNTON 

Mudiriyeh,  with  all  the  masters  of  the  Coptic,  Protestant,  and 
Government  schools,  until  I  am  again  able  to  visit  this  warm- 
hearted town,  which  has  so  many  noble  Moslem  families  in  it 
that  it  is  known  as  '  the  threshold  of  the  Prophet.'  It  is  from 
places  such  as  this,  and  after  meetings  like  those,  that  I  hope 
to  be  able  to  secure  young  men  who  will  be  worth  training  to 
be  Christian  evangelists  in  the  days  to  come.  And,  please 
God,  they  will  work  in  harmony  with  Coptic  religious  leaders 
for  the  cause. 

"The  only  other  place  in  this  province  visited  by  me  was 
Luxor,  where  I  was  able  to  rest  on  my  tour  up  the  river,  and 
prepare  the  way  for  meetings  on  my  return.  I  was  surprised 
at  the  growth  of  the  place  in  eight  years,  for  it  has  more  than 
doubled  in  size  during  that  time,  and  now  contains  15,000 
souls,  and  is  fast  increasing.  It  has  also  been  laid  out  nicely, 
and  is  quite  fit  for  Europeans  to  live  in  during  ten  months  in 
the  year. 

"In  Luxor  the  American  lady  missionaries  have  captured 
the  hearts  of  the  women  by  their  magnificent  girls'  day- 
school  with  250  pupils,  and  new  boarding-school  attached, 
with  60  girls  in  it  already  from  up  and  down  the  land. 
Meanwhile,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Pollock  are  winning  the  hearts  of  the 
whole  place  by  their  noble  and  self-denying  work.  Dr.  Pollock 
visits  other  outlying  towns  more  than  an  hour  in  each  direction, 
and  ought  soon  to  have  a  well-equipped  hospital  in  the  place. 
The  Coptic  and  Protestant  boys'  schools  contain  a  little  over 
100  boys  each;  the  Americans,  as  in  most  other  places, 
using  as  a  schoolroom  on  week-days  what  is  a  churchroom 
on  Sundays.  This  room  holds  over  300  people,  whereas 
the  Coptic  church  would  only  contain  about  150,  and 
had  hardly  any  forms  and  was  exceedingly  dirty.  So  I 
held  my  meetings  in  the  American  churchroom,  and  all  the 
Coptic  boys  were  marched  down  from  their  school,  where  they 
had  assembled,  to  the  Presbyterian  church  by  the  riverside. 
I  found  it  necessary  to  hold  first  a  short  lantern  meeting  for 
the  boys  of  both  schools,  at  which  I  catechised  them  on  their 
Bible  knowledge,  and  found  them  very  well  instructed.  Then 
we  had  a  second  meeting  for  the  adults,  the  schoolgirls 
being  admitted  with  their  mothers  on  the  women's  side 
of  the  curtain.  In  this  way  about  800  listened  to  the 
gospel  each  night.  As  usual,  I  visited  the  leading  Egyptian 


THE  LAST  YEAR  259 

Government  officials  in  the  place,  and  spent  considerable  time 
in  getting  to  know  subscribers ;  but  my  stay  in  Luxor  was 
chiefly  remarkable  for  the  fact  that  while  I  was  there  an 
Engishman,  who  had  come  there  to  buy  antiquities,  went  to 
the  magistrate  and  declared  himself  a  Moslem — Mahmoud 
Abdallah !  The  result  was  that  the  Moslems  who  came  the 
first  night  to  my  meetings  stayed  away  afterwards.  I  went 
my  last  morning  and  spent  over  three  hours  with  the  pervert 
afore  mentioned,  and  found  that  he  knew  no  Arabic,  and  was 
a  materialistic  pantheist,  and  had  nothing  in  common  at  all 
with  the  Sunni  deists  of  Egypt.  But  his  dragoman  had  led 
him  to  believe  that  there  was  no  difference  between  them,  and 
the  leading  Sheikhs  of  the  town  came  to  salute  him  as  a 
brother  while  I  was  there  ! 

"Our  colporteur-evangelist,  who  visited  Luxor  after  I  had 
left,  found  the  Christians  much  comforted  that  I  had  been 
there  at  the  time  and  seen  Mahmoud  Abdallah,  and  tried  to 
point  out  to  him  the  misunderstanding  which  his  action  would 
produce.  But  if  we  Englishmen  are  represented  by  a  Moslem 
convert  in  Luxor,  is  it  not  sad  that  we  have  no  Christian 
Englishman  in  the  place  who  is  trying  to  win  these  Moslems 
for  Christ  1  Instead  of  this,  all  our  English  tourists  get  their 
ideas  about  Islam  and  Christianity  in  Egypt  from  Moslem 
dragomen,  who  are  proverbial  liars,  and  the  fictions  which 
they  tell  get  spread  all  over  Europe  and  America. 

"  It  is  something  to  know  that  I  shall  be  welcomed  by  all 
the  people  a  second  time,  and  that  Copts  and  Protestants  will 
vie  with  one  another  to  make  any  future  mission  I  may  hold  a 
still  greater  success. 

"  My  next  campaign  was  held  in  Assouan.  The  season  was 
over,  and  all  the  people  were  at  leisure  to  listen,  and,  except 
for  the  great  heat,  the  time  was  very  opportune.  I  was  the 
guest  of  the  German  pioneer  missionaries  to  the  Nubians,  who 
have  made  a  very  good  impression  on  the  people  in  a  short 
time,  and  are  preparing  to  commence  work  among  the  Berber 
race  as  soon  as  possible.  These  Nubian  Berbers  extend  down 
to  a  large  town  called  Daraw,  some  distance  north  of  Assouan. 
The  German  missionaries  have  with  them  a  converted  Berber 
as  evangelist  and  interpreter,  who  has  a  very  interesting  history, 
had  I  time  to  tell  it. 

"With  German  thoroughness,  written  invitations  had  been 


26o  D.  M.  THORNTON 

sent  to  all  the  leading  people  of  Assouan,  and  these  were 
followed  up  by  personal  visits  to  the  Mudir,  who  is  very 
English  in  his  ways,  and  most  of  the  leading  Egyptians  in 
the  place.  The  meetings  were  held  in  the  missionary's  garden, 
and  were  crowded,  so  that  here,  too,  I  had  to  show  the  pictures 
to  the  boys  first,  and  then  later  on  to  the  adults.  This  involved 
about  two  hours  of  speaking  in  Arabic  every  night,  which  in 
the  heat  is  very  heavy  work. 

"  The  chief  interest  of  Assouan  is  its  international  character. 
I  had  no  less  than  eleven  nationalities  represented  in  my 
meetings,  namely,  Soudanese,  Berber,  Egyptians,  Syrians, 
Jews,  Turks,  German  and  Swiss,  Italian  and  Austrian,  while 
the  speaker  was  English !  The  leading  sheikhs,  lawyers,  and 
other  Government  officials  were  present,  listening  without  a 
word  of  opposition  to  the  story  of  the  Crucifixion.  In  all, 
about  500  adults  and  300  boys  attended  the  meetings,  and  for 
days  afterwards  the  talk  in  the  caf4s  was  of  nothing  but  the 
way  of  Salvation.  The  Coptic  priests,  and  the  Coptic  head- 
master of  the  excellent  school  there  of  250  boys,  are 
now  our  friends.  Islam  .  .  .  has  been  openly  challenged 
by  the  Cross  of  Christ,  and  has  listened  silently  to  the  gospel 
message.  Oh,  the  immense  opportunities  that  these  crowded 
towns  of  Egypt  present  for  faithful  permanent  work  !  But  no 
one  else  can  be  spared  from  Cairo  to  go  to  these  places  again, 
unless  we  be  immediately  reinforced.  Think  of  it ! — 10,000 
to  the  linear  mile  in  Upper  Egypt  (8000  Moslems) ;  and  yet 
we  have  had  no  reinforcements  for  four  years  and  a  half  in 
Egypt,  and  still  wait  patiently  till  England  awakes  from 
slumber  and  ignorance  of  the  need.  Try,  too,  to  realise  that 
this,  my  first  itineration  tour,  only  cost  the  C.M.S.  <£4,  10s., 
and  enabled  me  to  preach  the  gospel  in  three  towns  containing 
over  60,000  people,  of  whom  1200  children  and  1500  adults 
have  heard  the  whole  story  of  Redemption.  Whereas,  if  I 
had  stayed  in  Cairo,  I  could  not  have  reached  (in  all  our 
schools)  over  500  boys  and  girls,  nor  addressed  on  our  tiny 
premises  over  300  adults  all  told ;  most  of  whom  have  heard 
the  gospel  many  times  before. 

"  But  more  than  this,  the  Coptic  Metran  of  Esna — now,  sad 
to  say,  the  southernmost  ancient  Christian  bishopric  in  the 
valley  of  the  Nile — wants  me  to  visit  his  town  of  20,000.  A 
leading  layman  of  Edfu  is  prepared  to  give  us  his  large  garden 


THE  LAST  YEAR  261 

there  for  gospel  meetings.  The  Coptic  priest  of  Kous  (one  of 
the  oldest  towns  in  Egypt)  wants  me  to  hold  a  mission  there, 
while  the  people  of  Kena  and  Luxor  have  urged  me  to  visit 
them  again.  So  that  in  the  two  southernmost  provinces  and 
dioceses  of  Egypt  there  are  six  towns  with  an  average  of 
20,000  people  which  I  ought  to  visit  with  fellow-workers 
within  another  year,  to  hold  a  week's  mission  in  each,  and 
have  time  to  interview  inquirers  and  to  follow  up  the  work. 

"  II.  SECOND  VISIT. — My  second  short  tour  consisted  in  a 
visit  to  a  few  centres  in  the  provinces  of  Girga  and  Assiut,  or 
to  the  dioceses  of  Akhmlm  and  Aboutig.  Though  late  in  the 
season  I  determined  to  face  the  heat  and  do  my  hest ;  and  in 
the  middle  of  May  I  met  our  colporteur-evangelist  at  Soha"g, 
the  provincial  capital  of  Girga  province,  and  had  a  four  days' 
campaign  among  its  20,000  people.  The  way  here  was  pre- 
pared by  a  large  Christian  school  having  been  started  under 
Coptic  lay  patronage,  which  now  contains  460  boys  and 
thirteen  masters.  So  after  one  lantern  meeting  for  the  boys, 
advertising  my  meetings  throughout  the  place,  the  mission  was 
held,  and  we  had  about  500  adults  besides  boys  each  night. 
The  masters  all  attended,  and  helped  to  place  the  people  and 
keep  order.  In  consequence,  we  had  breathless  stillness 
throughout.  The  meetings  were  held  in  the  large  court 
outside  the  school,  and  the  sheet  was  suspended  from  a  mud 
wall.  The  leading  people  of  the  place  were  able  to  listen  from 
the  headmaster's  balcony.  And  after  three  nights  the  Coptic 
women  sent  a  special  request  that  they  might  have  a  meeting 
of  their  own  in  their  church,  to  which  I,  of  course,  acceded ; 
but  I  found  four  nights  running  very  hard  work,  and  was 
obliged  to  rest  on  Sunday.  I  attended,  however,  the  Coptic 
service  on  Sunday  morning,  and  taught  the  choirboys  some 
hymns  afterwards. 

"  On  the  Monday  we  went  to  Tahta,  the  centre  of  the 
Coptic  Catholic  Mission  in  Upper  Egypt,  and  found  the  Coptic 
Orthodox  priest  ready  to  give  us  his  church  for  a  meeting. 
The  first  night  the  church  was  packed,  and  at  least  600  got 
inside,  and  many  more  listened  from  the  court.  There  was  no 
ventilation,  and  the  temperature  at  night  was  over  90  degs. 
Fahr.,  and  I  nearly  succumbed.  But  the  next  day  a  Coptic 
gentleman  lent  us  the  use  of  his  garden,  and  hundreds  of  Copts 
and  Moslems  gathered  around  two  stately  palm  trees  on  the 


262  D.  M.  THORNTON 

grass,  while  we  suspended  two  winding-sheets  from  the  trees 
and  threw  the  pictures  on  the  sheet.  I  was  able,  when  we 
came  to  the  betrayal  of  Jesus  Christ  by  Judas,  to  quiet  the 
Moslem  sheikhs  present  by  shaking  hands  with  one  of  them. 
After  that  they  listened  quietly  through  the  whole  story  of  the 
Crucifixion,  and  were  evidently  much  impressed  by  what  they 
saw  and  heard.  How  I  wish  now  that  I  had  stayed  there 
longer  to  follow  up  the  work !  But  I  was  tired  out,  and  could 
not  face  another  day  of  burning  heat  with  hardly  anything 
palatable  to  eat.  So  I  returned  to  Assiut  direct,  in  order  to 
rest  awhile.  But  all  the  Moslems  in  the  place  want  me  to  go 
back  there  again.  When  can  it  be  1  I  have  since  had  a  letter 

from ,  the  son  of  the  Coptic  priest,  telling  me  that  quite 

a  stir  has  been  created  among  the  Moslems  of  the  place ;  that 
the  leading  Sheikh,  who  took  two  tracts  from  me  that  night, 

has  asked  for  a  New  Testament,  and  that  Effendi  has 

given  him  his  own  to  read.  He  also  adds  that  a  company  of 
Moslem  sheikhs  in  that  town  are  meeting  together  to  read  the 
Scriptures,  and  that  one  of  them  appears  to  be  already  con- 
vinced of  the  truth  of  Christianity.  May  we  not  pray  that  he, 
and  many  more  like  him,  may  during  these  meetings  find  their 
way  to  the  Saviour  ? 

"  At  Assiut,  which  is  the  capital  of  Upper  Egypt,  I  went  to 
one  of  the  break-up  functions  at  the  college  for  boys,  which  I 
enjoyed  very  much,  and  visited  several  of  the  leading  people  of 
Assiut  and  had  talks  with  the  American  missionaries  about 
their  work.  But  as  the  Coptic  Metran  had  not  yet  returned 
from  his  pilgrimage,  I  felt  the  time  was  not  ripe  yet  for  any 
meetings  in  the  capital  of  Upper  Egypt.  But  some  day  I  hope 
to  hold  a  convention  there  (D.V.). 

"  I  have  since  heard  from  the  Metran  of  Assiut  that,  if  I 
will  give  him  ten  days'  notice  of  my  coming,  he  will  return 
from  the  visitation  of  his  diocese,  and  will  prepare  me  a  large 
place  in  which  to  hold  meetings  for  the  people  of  Assiut ;  and 
so  I  hope  to  go  there  again  some  time  this  autumn,  if  God  wills. 

"  One  afternoon  I  returned  southwards  to  Aboutig,  the  centre 
of  another  bishopric  and  about  half  an  hour  by  train  from 
Assiut,  in  order  that  I  might  visit  the  Metran  and  study  the 
revival  which  has  broken  out  in  a  large  village  called  Nikhaila 
(containing  about  13,000  souls),  from  which  comes  our  senior 
Cairo  catechist.  The  good  bishop  reminded  me  very  much  of 


THE  LAST  YEAR  263 

the  late  Bishop  Creighton  in  looks,  and  was  perfectly  agreeable 
to  my  coming  and  holding  as  many  meetings  as  I  liked,  eithei 
in  his  church  or  in  the  market-place  or  outside  the  town 
(19,000).  When  I  told  him  that  I  was  very  anxious  to  see 
the  work  in  Nikhaila,  he  at  once  offered  me  his  stalwart 
donkey,  and  accordingly  I  covered  the  distance  of  three  miles 
in  very  good  time. 

"  All  the  corn  crops  in  Upper  Egypt  ahove  Assiut  had  been 
gathered  in,  as  they  begin  the  harvest  there  at  the  end  of  April; 
so  the  fields  looked  very  bare  and  stubbly  on  one's  right,  while 
the  river  below  was  full  of  sandbanks  and  islands  on  the  left, 
as  I  rode  on  the  raised  road  between  the  two.  When  I  got  to 
Nikhaila  it  was  nearing  sunset,  and  all  the  people  were  out 
among  the  heaps  of  corn,  threshing  by  means  of  bullocks  and  a 
sort  of  wooden  sledge,  and  winnowing  the  chaff  by  throwing 
the  grain  up  into  the  air  with  a  shovel  in  the  evening  breeze. 
I  at  once  made  for  the  Coptic  priest's  house — a  simple,  pious 
man.  He  led  me  to  the  house  of  the  young  Presbyterian 
pastor,  and  thence  I  went  on  to  G-irgis  Beshai's  people.  While 
there,  the  elder  of  the  Presbyterian  church  and  the  young 
Coptic  preacher  of  the  place  both  came  to  call,  and  we  fairly 
filled  the  only  reception-room,  which  was  not  more  than  nine 
feet  square.  The  elder  is  a  fine  godly  merchant — one  of  the 
best  that  Upper  Egypt  can  produce, — not  carried  away  by  undue 
emotion,  but  a  strong,  reliable  Christian  with  reputation  for 
goodness  far  and  wide. 

"We  decided  that  I  should  go  the  round  of  the  various 
services,  first  to  the  Copts,  then  the  Presbyterians,  and  lastly 
the  Holiness  Mission.  The  Coptic  evening  service  was  a  very 
poor  affair,  though  the  few  ignorant  folk  who  came  did  sing 
very  heartily,  and  that  out  of  a  book  published  by  Plymouth 
Brethren  !  About  eighteen  men  and  boys  were  there,  several 
of  whom  came  away  with  me  when  I  left.  The  priest  escorted 
me  to  the  Presbyterian  churchroom,  leaving  the  preacher  to 
finish  the  meeting  with  a  short  address.  There  were,  to  my 
astonishment,  on  a  week-night  in  harvest,  about  150  men  in 
the  churchroom,  most  of  them  middle-aged,  and  all  of  them 
respectable  and  clean.  They  were  holding  a  '  conference,'  at 
which  anyone  was  free  to  say  a  word.  The  pastor  spoke  a 
little  above  the  heads  of  the  people,  and  two  others  took  part 
besides.  They  sang  the  doggerel  version  of  the  Psalms  with  a 


264  !>•  M.  THORNTON 

true  Scotch  swing,  and  one  might  have  imagined  one  was  in  a 
'  hieland  kirk '  for  all  the  world. 

"From  thence  I  was  conducted  to  the  Holiness  Mission. 
Here  I  found  about  sixty  young  men  squatting  in  rows  along 
the  floor  of  a  room  about  30  by  20  feet,  with  Mr.  Trotter,  the 
Canadian  missionary,  seated,  and  a  shoeless  and  beardless  fellah 
holding  forth  from  the  raised  dais  to  be  found  in  every  native 
house.  The  women  were  behind  the  thatched  partition,  which 
rustled  every  now  and  then.  On  being  called  up  to  the  dais 
I  listened  for  over  half  an  hour  to  a  most  interesting  address 
from  this  fellah — the  lowest  of  the  low,  but  I  declare  that  he 
reminded  me  more  of  what  I  have  imagined  the  prophet  Amos 
to  have  been  than  anyone  I  have  seen.  I  could  have  listened 
to  this  man — who  only  learned  to  read,  I  am  told,  last  year — 
for  hours,  for  he  had  a  message  to  deliver,  and  was  full  of  the 
Spirit.  And  this  is  why  the  young  men  all  come  together  to 
hear  him.  It  is  true  that  he  ran  about  the  dais  towards  the 
end,  and  thereby  stirred  up  the  feelings  of  his  audience  rather 
too  much  ;  but  his  words  were  with  power.  He  was  speaking 
about  the  people  to  whom  Jeremiah  alluded  as  false  prophets, 
who  spake  '  peace,  peace,  when  there  was  no  peace  to  the 
wicked.'  He  pointed  out  that  he  had  to  deliver  a  message, 
whether  his  audience  would  hear  or  whether  they  would  for- 
bear, and  that  he  would  be  untrue  to  God  if  he  did  not. 

"After  he  had  got  everyone  to  rise  simultaneously  and  say 
that  they  were  willing  to  go  anywhere  for  Christ — which  was 
splendid  to  witness  once,  but  doubtless  becomes  rather  insincere 
if  often  repeated — all  fell  upon  their  knees  in  a  moment  and 
prostrated  themselves  this  way  and  that  way  all  over  the  room. 
And  now  an  extraordinary  scene  was  witnessed  of  everyone 
praying  at  the  same  time,  some  prostrate  on  the  ground,  others 
holding  out  one  or  two  arms  to  claim  blessings  from  God,  while 
more  swayed  backwards  and  forwards  as  if  mesmerised.  And 
then  gradually  the  whole  body  seemed  to  become  calmer,  and 
there  came  a  quiet  over  them  all,  whereat  someone  struck  up 
a  hymn  in  Arabic  with  which  all  were  familiar.  As  soon  as 
they  rose  to  sing  again  I  had  to  leave  to  catch  the  last  train 
back  to  Assiut.  My  friends  there  provided  me  with  a  fine 
donkey,  and  one  of  them  accompanied  me.  What  was  our 
astonishment,  when  half-way  to  Aboutig,  to  see  the  train  come 
along  beside  us  !  Only  when  we  reached  the  station  did  we 


THE  LAST  YEAR  265 

find  that  since  1st  May  they  had  altered  this  train  to  half  an 
hour  earlier.  What  was  to  be  done  ?  I  sent  back  my  friend, 
after  refusing  his  kind  offer  of  hospitality,  and  tried  to  get  into 
the  only  hotel  at  Aboutig,  about  10.30  p.m.  As  the  one  avail- 
able room  had  another  man  in  it,  and  the  vacant  bed  looked 
far  from  clean,  I  returned  to  the  station  and  lay  on  some  sacks 
of  corn  in  the  breeze  until  the  goods  train  arrived  at  1  a.m. 
About  3  a.m.  we  reached  Assiut,  having  travelled  in  the  shakiest 
guard's  van  I  have  ever  seen.  Fortunately  my  room  was  on 
the  top  storey  of  the  Agricultural  Bank,  and  able  to  be  reached 
by  an  outside  staircase  without  disturbing  those  below. 

"I  am  profoundly  grateful  for  all  I  saw  of  the  religious 
devotion  of  those  simple  souls,  and  I  am  encouraged  now  to 
believe  that  God  can  and  will  raise  up  from  among  this  people 
men  after  His  own  heart,  who  will  be  witnesses  to  Christ  even 
unto  death. 

"And  only  the  same  day  when  visiting  Mr.  Hunt,  of  the 
American  Mission  in  Assiut,  he  told  me  of  a  blind  girl  trained 
in  their  school  who  had  received  real  blessing,  owing  to  the 
influence  of  the  Holiness  people,  and  was  now  conducting  a 
daily  service  attended  by  300  people,  men  and  women,  in  a 
large  village  not  far  away  on  the  east  bank  of  the  river ;  while 
the  Omdeh  (headman)  of  the  place  and  many  of  the  leading 
people  have  testified  that  they  owe  to  her  ministry  real  spiritual 
benefit.  So  it  would  seem  that  God  has  given  us  these  en- 
couragements to  strengthen  our  faith  to  believe  in  His 
Almighty  power  to  raise  up  both  men  and  women  to  do  Him 
service  in  this  land. 

"It  is  only  fair  also  to  add  in  closing  that  none  of  the 
workers  of  this  mission  receive  any  salary  whatever  from  the 
Canadian  Missions." 


Thornton  came  back  from  these  first  two  journeys  in 
huge  spirits  and  excellent  health,  and  full  of  new  ideas. 
His  experience  had  convinced  him  of  several  things: 
first,  that  it  was  possible  to  evangelise  Moslems  on  a 
large  scale  in  Upper  Egypt ;  secondly,  that  it  was  pos- 
sible to  work  through  Orthodox  Copts,  and  in  so  doing 


266  D.  M.  THORNTON 

raise  their  standard  of  Christian  life ;  thirdly,  that  the 
only  way  of  covering  the  ground  was  by  means  of  the 
river,  and  that  the  only  feasible  way  of  keeping  alive 
was  on  a  boat  on  that  river,  as  inns  were  either  non- 
existent or  bad.  One  other  thing  had  impressed  him 
greatly:  the  existence  of  young  Copts,  often  sons  of 
priests,  educated  but  vocationless,  waiting  "  in  the 
market-place."  Immediately  his  rapid  mind  had  made 
the  usual  synthesis, — why  not  evangelise  by  means  of  a 
boat  on  the  river,  and  take  a  number  of  young  men  on 
board,  for  training  in  theology  and  practical  work  ? 
Thus  would  be  combined  an  evangelising  scheme  and 
the  plan  for  the  training  of  catechists,  which  had  so 
long  been  before  the  mission.  The  more  he  thought  of 
this,  the  more  feasible  and  attractive  it  appeared.  It 
seemed  "Galilean,"  and  appealed  to  him  as  such, — the 
free,  open-air  life;  the  companionship  of  these  few 
pupils;  their  training,  now  in  theology,  as  the  boat 
travelled  between  town  and  town,  or  village  and  village, 
and  now  in  practical  work,  as  it  is  moored  at  some 
riverside  quay,  and  the  little  party  goes  up  the  bank 
and  into  the  town,  and  learns,  by  example  and  by 
practice,  how  to  distribute  literature,  how  to  work  up  a 
meeting,  how  to  visit  high  and  low,  how  to  preach,  how 
to  win  souls.  .  .  . 

And  he  convinced.  The  scheme  was  drawn  up  and 
discussed ;  the  recommendations  were  made  and  were 
accepted ;  the  leave  was  granted — with  the  usual  pro- 
viso that  a  reinforcement  should  first  have  come. 

He  was  delighted.     He  seemed  a  new  man.     Gaily  he 


THE  LAST  YEAR  267 

announced  his  intention  of  spending  his  holiday,  as  soon 
as  his  colleague  arrived  from  home  in  September,  of 
visiting  the  Sudan,  organising  the  collection  of  "  Orient 
and  Occident "  subscriptions  there,  and  "  prospecting " 
(mutatis  mutandis)  as  he  had  done  in  Upper  Egypt. 
It  seemed  a  wild  enough  idea,  but  nothing  could  turn 
him  from  it.  The  whole  itinerary  was  sketched  out 
with  the  utmost  nicety.  All  was  ready  against  the 
return  of  his  colleague.  .  .  . 

Alas !  when  that  colleague  returned,  it  was  but  to  be 
told  by  telegram  at  Port  Said  that  Douglas  Thornton 
was  down  with  typhoid  fever,  the  fever  from  which  he 
never  recovered.  Deo  aliter  visum. 

It  was  after  the  sitting  of  the  Mission  Conference 
when  those  things  were  decided  that  he  had  set  out,  in 
the  height  of  the  burning  summer  heat,  on  his  third 
tour  in  the  provinces  of  Upper  Egypt.  Here  is  his 
record  of  the  same,  the  last  report  that  ever  came  from 
his  pen — 

A  THIRD  VISIT  TO  UPPER  EGYPT. 

"  My  third  visit  to  Upper  Egypt  had  to  be  fitted  in  between 
our  summer  conference,  which  had  to  be  prolonged  more  than 
usual,  in  order  to  devise  means  by  which  to  reduce  estimates 
without  curtailing  our  work,  and  the  summer  holidays  ;  so  that 
I  could  only  spare  the  inside  of  a  week  in  June,  between  the 
25th  and  30th,  to  pay  preliminary  visits  to  Minieh  and  Beni 
Suef  (four  hours  and  a  half  and  two  hours  respectively  by  train 
from  Cairo).  But  it  is  astonishing  how  much  can  be  done  in  a 
few  days  when  the  Lord  is  with  you. 

"  I  found  the  town  of  Minieh  (30,000),  which  is  the  pro- 
vincial capital  of  a  province  of  the  same  name,  and  the  seat 


268  D.  M.  THORNTON 

of  both  an  Egyptian  Coptic  Orthodox  and  Coptic  Catholic 
bishopric,  besides  a  Greek  Orthodox  bishopric,  was  in  the 
middle  of  a  sad  dispute  which  involved  all  the  Christian 
leaders.  And  there  was  the  humiliating  spectacle  of  the 
Moslem  governor  of  the  province,  a  kindly  and  religious- 
minded  man,  trying  to  keep  the  peace  between  the  contending 
factions.  This  is,  I  fear,  only  a  sample  of  what  is  going  on  all 
over  Moslem  lands  to-day,  and  has  brought  Christianity  into 
such  disrepute  among  the  followers  of  Islam. 

"  It  was  no  light  task  to  attempt  to  do  any  open  evangelistic 
work  in  such  a  place,  and  I  was  assured  by  the  Coptic  Orthodox 
bishop  that  the  time  was  not  ripe  for  suoh  an  effort,  that  the 
Moslems  of  the  place  were  noted  for  their  opposition  to  Chris- 
tianity, and  that  neither  he  nor  his  clergy  could  help  us,  though 
he  would  be  only  too  glad  if  we  (as  an  English  Episcopal 
Society)  would  begin  and  carry  on  such  work  in  his  town  and 
province.  At  the  same  time  he  kept  me  for  over  two  hours 
and  a  half  one  evening  engaged  in  animated  and  interested 
discussion  on  the  principles  of  the  English  Church,  both 
wherein  they  agreed  and  wherein  they  differed  from  those  of 
the  Coptic  National  Church  of  Egypt.  It  is  a  wonderful  privi- 
lege to  be  able  at  last  to  hold  full  and  free  intercourse  with 
Coptic  leaders  of  light  and  education  in  their  own  colloquial 
language  of  Arabic,  and  to  be  able  to  explain  the  spiritual 
meaning  of  truths  which  we  hold  to  be  Scriptural  in  our 
Church  order  and  discipline,  I  trust  that  I  faithfully  inter- 
preted the  tenets  of  the  Church  of  England  in  its  length  and 
breadth  and  height.  What  impressed  him  most  was  the  funda- 
mental principle  of  liberty  which  we  allow  to  conscience  in 
ordinances,  such  as  marriage  of  clergy,  confession,  fasting,  etc. 
By  this  I  mean  that  whereas  the  Church  of  England  insists  on 
Baptism  and  Communion  as  generally  necessary  to  salvation,  it 
makes  no  rules  for  those  minor  ordinances  as  binding  on  either 
clergy  or  laity.  Now  these  Oriental  churches,  like  that  of 
Rome,  are  still  bound  by  a  terrible  number  of  rules  and  safe- 
guards, such  as  compulsory  celibacy  of  higher  ecclesiastics, 
compulsory  confession  before  Communion,  compulsory  fasting 
and  abstinence  from  certain  foods  on  certain  days,  though  any 
number  of  cigarettes  seem  to  be  permitted  in  their  place  ! 

"  This  interview  followed  immediately  upon  an  hour  and  a 
half  spent  with  the  Moslem  judge  of  the  Moslem  Ecclesiastical 


THE  LAST  YEAR  269 

Court  of  the  province,  in  a  beautiful  garden  by  the  riverside. 
Hither  our  colporteur-evangelist  and  I  wended  our  way  to  see 
a  leading  Copt  by  appointment,  and  here  the  Lord  opened  the 
door  for  me  to  witness  to  this  dear  old  man  out  of  the  Old 
Testament  Scriptures  that  the  Christ  must  suffer  and  die  for 
our  sins  and  rise  again  for  our  justification. 

"  As  is  so  often  the  case,  I  found  that  leading  Moslems  were 
at  first  more  anxious  to  know  our  message  than  the  timorous 
Christians,  and  I  am  glad  to  report  that  the  Moslem  governor 
not  only  accepted  a  bound  volume  of  Orient  and  Occident 
graciously,  as  every  other  Mudir  (governor)  of  provinces  farther 
south  has  done,  but  wished  to  become  a  paying  subscriber  as 
well,  and  welcomed  us  to  his  province. 

"When,  therefore,  the  leading  Copt  aforementioned  was 
able  to  arrange  that  the  town  theatre  (which  holds  about 
700)  should  be  freely  placed  at  my  disposal  for  evangel- 
istic meetings,  I  felt  that  we  had  sufficient  support  to  decide 
to  hold  a  mission  to  Moslems  in  the  place,  and  before  I 
left  (within  forty-eight  hours  of  arrival)  it  was  arranged  that 
I  should  return  again  in  a  fortnight  for  a  five  days'  campaign, 
by  which  time  the  theatre  would  be  free.  I  visited,  therefore, 
the  Coptic  and  Protestant  schools,  and  told  their  masters  that 
I  hoped  soon  to  return,  and  asked  them  to  allow  their  boys 
(over  900  in  number)  to  come  the  first  night  for  the 
opening  meeting  with  their  Moslem  boys  and  Moslem  sheikhs 
as  well. 

"  On  July  10  (a  Wednesday),  I  returned  to  Minieh  from 
Cairo,  and  with  the  aid  of  the  schoolmasters  and  Mr.  Gergis 
Hanna  we  got  ready  the  theatre  for  the  lantern  meeting.  The 
boys  came  in  crowds,  long  before  the  time,  and  eventually  a 
large  number  of  lads  from  the  Moslem  and  Government 
schools  found  their  way  in,  as  well  as  600  from  the  Christian 
schools.  Later  on  the  Coptic  Catholic  bishop  informed  me 
that  numbers  of  their  boys  had  come  as  well. 

"  Those  who  have  had  the  management  of  large  numbers  of 
disciplined  English  boys  will  sympathise  with  me  in  having 
had  that  hot  night  to  keep  the  attention  of  about  1000 
Egyptian  boys,  several  hundreds  of  whom  were  unaccustomed 
to  discipline,  and  none  of  whom  had  ever  seen  a  magic-lantern 
before.  It  was  really  marvellous  how  well  they  attended  as  I 
catechised  them  on  the  Old  Testament  pictures,  and  told  them 


270  D.  M.  THORNTON 

the  outline  of  the  story  of  Jesus,  illustrated  by  leading  pictures. 
I  did  once  have  to  make  a  sally  to  some  of  the  boxes  at  the 
side,  into  which  some  rowdy  young  Moslems  had  got,  but  after 
that  they  were  as  quiet  as  lambs,  and  the  chief  impression  left 
on  the  masters  seems  to  have  been  my  docility  ! 

"  Of  course  this  meeting  advertised  the  series  all  over  the 
town,  but  we  thought  it  best  to  pay  several  calls  and  give 
personal  invitations.  So,  after  again  visiting  the  governor,  we 
went  into  every  room  of  the  Governorate,  as  I  had  done  at 
Kena,  and  invited  every  employe",  whether  Moslem  or  Chris- 
tian, Copt,  Protestant,  or  Catholic,  to  the  meetings.  All  were 
exceedingly  polite  and  interested  at  the  idea  of  holding  meet- 
ings '  to  explain  the  lives  of  the  prophets '  in  a  theatre.  On 
subsequent  days  we  visited  the  Police  and  the  Law  Courts, 
and  every  night  Coptic  helpers  invited  all  the  young  men  in 
the  caf^s,  which  were  close  by  the  place  where  the  gatherings 
were  held,  in  a  very  central  place. 

"  As  soon  as  the  Metran  and  the  leading  Coptic  priest  heard 
what  the  meetings  were  like,  the  former  allowed  the  latter  to 
be  present,  and  to  lead  in  prayer,  with  the  result  that  I  had 
representatives  of  the  two  leading  Christian  bodies  praying 
together  on  the  same  platform. 

"In  the  hotel  with  me  was  staying  a  nice  young  Moslem, 
who  had  been  appointed  during  holiday  time  to  take  someone 
else's  place  in  Minieh  in  the  Civil  Tribunals.  He  had  attended 
several  of  our  meetings  in  Cairo  for  students,  though  not  the 
evangelistic  ones.  He  called  on  me,  so  I  returned  the  call  and 
found  that  he  had  attended  one  of  my  meetings  in  the  theatre. 
He  was  curious  to  know  what  I  was  driving  at,  and  at  once 
plunged  into  a  long  religious  conversation,  quite  frankly  reveal- 
ing the  general  attitude  of  such  young  Moslems  to  Christianity 
by  saying  that  he  might  become  a  materialist,  but  a  Christian, 
never — that  was  unthinkable.  However,  he  was  sufficiently 
impressed  to  ask  me  to  go  with  him  to  call  on  the  Moslem 
judge  of  the  '  Tribunal  Sommaire '  (the  civil  court)  on  Sunday 
afternoon,  about  which  more  anon. 

"At  the  theatre  I  took  a  series  of  three  addresses — (1)  on 
the  comparison  and  contrasts  between  Moses  and  Christ ;  (2) 
on  the  Creation,  Fall,  and  Flood,  followed  by  the  story  of  the 
Passion  and  Death  of  Jesus  Christ ;  (3)  on  the  story  of  Abraham, 
the  sacrifice  of  Isaac,  the  Passover,  the  Scapegoat,  the  Serpent 


THE  LAST  YEAR  271 

in  the  Wilderness,  and  the  Death  and  Kesurrection  of  Christ. 
Each  night  we  had  the  theatre  crowded  as  full  as  it  could  be 
(Wednesday  to  Saturday),  with  over  100  standing  as  well  all  the 
time.  A  large  part  of  the  audiences  were  fresh  each  night,  so 
that  I  reckon  in  all  that  about  1500  boys  and  lads,  and  over 
1000  men,  heard  the  gospel  story  in  that  place.  Of  these, 
about  500  men  and  500  boys  were  Moslems.  Besides  these,  in 
the  churches  on  Sunday,  at  least  another  250  men,  500  women, 
and  300  girls  heard  the  gospel  as  well. 

"  On  Friday  the  Metran  invited  me  to  a  fasting  lunch,  and 
very  satisfying  it  was,  with  plenty  of  fruit  and  vegetables,  and 
without  the  oil  and  butter  in  the  food,  which  I  detest.  We 
had  previously  had  another  tremendous  talk  with  him  and 
some  of  the  leading  laity  in  the  place  about  the  duty  of 
Christians  to  witness  to  Moslems,  and  the  need  for  more  unity 
and  brotherhood  among  Christians.  It  was  then  that  the 
Bishop  asked  me  to  preach  on  Sunday  morning  in  the  Coptic 
Cathedral  Church. 

"On  Sunday  at  7.15  a.m.  (after  being  up  late  with  several 
young  men  on  Saturday  night),  I  was  conducted  to  the  Coptic 
Church,  which  I  found  packed  with  about  300  men  squeezed 
on  forms,  and  another  200  seated  on  mats  on  the  floor,  not  to 
mention  crowds  of  women  behind  the  trellis-work  in  the 
balconies.  I  brought  my  clericals  with  me,  as  I  thought  that 
it  would  be  well  to  show  the  people  what  we  wear,  and  I  robed 
in  the  sanctuary  behind  the  usual  screen,  after  having  removed 
my  boots  outside  in  the  choir. 

"  I  was  asked  to  read  the  epistles  and  gospel,  but  as  the 
book  was  an  old  translation  with  which  I  am  not  familiar, 
I  suggested  that  one  of  the  two  epistles  would  be  sufficient. 
These  were  read  from  a  small  reading-desk  on  the  steps  just 
outside  the  sanctuary.  The  choirboys  chanted  the  Coptic 
anthems  and  responses  below,  facing  $".  and  S.,  and  the 
Bishop's  chair  ended  the  choir,  but  there  were  no  proper 
stalls. 

"  About  8  a.m.  I  was  called  upon  to  preach  from  the  steps, 
and  took  as  my  subject,  'The  knowledge  of  Christ'  (St.  John 
xvii.  3  and  Phil.  iii.  10),  and  divided  the  subject  as  Walpole 
does  in  his  Vital  Religion.  The  stillness  was  intense,  and 
I  was,  I  believe,  much  helped  to  be  clear  and  simple  as  I 
urged  on  all  the  vital  importance  of  personal  knowledge,  and 


272  D.  M.  THORNTON 

not  mere  superficial,  traditional,  second-hand  knowledge  of 
Christ.  It  was  worth  coming  to  Egypt  if  only  for  that  one 
opportunity — the  first,  I  trust,  of  many  more — of  using  Coptic 
churches  for  preaching  Christ,  in  Arabic,  to  Moslems  and 
Christians  of  many  denominations. 

"The  Metran,  to  my  surprise,  backed  up  what  I  had  said 
with  a  long  discursus  about  his  interview  with  me.  He  ex- 
plained that  what  had  attracted  him  to  the  Episcopalians  was 
that  they  wished  to  help  and  not  to  destroy  the  Coptic  Church. 
He  declared  that  on  all  fundamentals  the  two  Churches  were  in 
agreement,  and  thanked  God  for  having  brought  me  to  Minieh. 
After  the  service,  which  was  read  mostly  in  Arabic,  not  Coptic 
(both  to  my  benefit  and  to  that  of  the  congregation),  the  Bishop 
took  me  back  to  his  house  and  asked  me  to  tell  him  frankly 
what  I  thought  of  the  service,  and  what  changes  I  would  like 
to  see  in  it.  I  had  been  either  sitting1  or  standing  during  the 
Communion  service  within  the  sanctuary,  and  so  had  the  best 
opportunity  I  have  yet  had  of  observing  the  ritual  and  the 
manual  acts,  which  are  most  interesting,  but  I  cannot  dwell  on 
them  now.  I  urged  very  strongly  the  speedy  translation  of  all 
the  Coptic  liturgy  into  Arabic,  and  its  regular  use  in  a  language 
understanded  of  the  people.  I  suggested  a  shortening  of  non- 
vital  parts  at  the  same  time,  and  gave  the  experience  of  our 
reformers  in  the  matter.  Then  I  spoke  very  strongly  on  the 
need  for  making  the  confessional  voluntary,  and  applying  the  test 
of  congregational  confession  to  take  the  place  of  auricular  confes- 
sion. I  pointed  out  that  the  way  for  a  father  to  retain  the 
confidence  of  his  children  when  grown-up  is  to  treat  them 
gradually  more  and  more  as  brethren,  and  not  always  as  babes. 
Their  fear  is  that  it  would  lead  to  the  priesthood  losing  its 
leadership,  but,  of  course,  this  would  not  necessarily  be  the 
case.  Then  we  discussed  in  general  how  to  bring  back  Roman- 
ists and  Protestants  to  the  fold  of  the  National  Church,  and  I 
could  not  help  thinking  how  valuable  our  Church  History 
should  be  to  the  Copts  to-day  as  they  set  about  reform.  After 
an  ordinary  lunch  I  parted  from  this  learned  ecclesiast  and 
returned  to  the  hotel. 

"  At  5  p.m.  I  went  off  to  the  judge's  house,  some  little  way 
north  of  the  town.  After  spending  half  an  hour  on  educa- 
tional matters  the  Governor  came  to  call,  and  I  thought  that 
1  At  the  direction  of  the  Metran. 


THE  LAST  YEAR  273 

my  chance  of  a  straight  talk  had  now  vanished ;  but  to  my 
surprise  my  two  legal  friends  at  once  plunged  into  religious 
controversy  as  the  one  subject  of  interest  to  us  all.  Before 
taking  up  their  challenge,  I  of  course  took  care  to  secure  the 
goodwill  of  the  Governor,  in  order  to  avoid  seeming  to  force 
on  him  or  them  the  claims  of  Christ,  and  then  we  had  nearly 
two  hours'  honest  talk  together  on  the  things  of  God.  Such 
an  opportunity  has  never  yet  occurred  to  me  in  Cairo,  but 
there  in  the  provinces,  away  from  the  eyes  of  the  vigilant 
press  and  religious  leaders  of  Islam,  men  are  freer  to  inquire 
and  speak  freely.  The  upshot  of  it  is  that  I  may  send  any- 
thing to  the  judge  to  read,  and  know  that  he  will  carefully 
examine  the  same.  Orient  and  Occident  and  Christian  liter- 
ature must  be  the  visible  link  between  us  until  my  next  visit. 

"At  7.30  p.m.  I  had  to  hurry  back  for  the  special  meeting 
for  women  in  the  Protestant  church  of  Minieh.  These  souls 
had  been  unable  to  attend  the  meetings  in  the  theatre,  and  so 
I  promised  to  give  them  and  their  daughters  a  chance  to  see 
some  of  the  Bible  pictures.  However,  the  presence  of  over  a 
hundred  babes  in  arms  completely  baffled  both  my  patience 
and  my  vocal  powers,  so  that  I  soon  gave  way  to  the  Protestant 
pastors  (of  whom  there  are  two  in  Minieh),  who  were  very 
pleased  to  have  the  task  of  explaining  the  Bible  stories,  and 
certainly  in  simpler  language  than  I  could  command.  As  we 
came  out  hundreds  of  blessings  were  poured  on  our  heads,  and 
I  felt,  as  I  left  the  place  early  next  day,  that  my  visit  had 
been  a  help  to  Protestants  as  well  as  to  Copts,  to  priests 
and  pastors,  to  Moslems  of  all  classes,  to  Christians  of  all 
denominations,  and  it  is  little  wonder  that  I  now  feel  called 
upon  to  do  more  of  this  needed  and  encouraging  work  all  up 
and  down  the  valley  of  the  Mle. 

"  But  perhaps  some  may  doubt  whether  such  a  visit  could  ever 
be  repeated.  My  only  reply  is  that  after  I  left,  our  evangelist 
was  repeatedly  asked  both  by  Moslems  and  Copts  when  I  would 
be  able  to  return.  And  several  young  men,  besides  one  of  the 
Coptic  priests,  were  there  at  the  station  at  6  a.m.  to  bid  me 
farewell,  and  to  pray  that  I  would  come  again  very  soon. 

"Will  not  some  brother  and  sister  who  reads  of  this  open 
door,  dedicate  themselves  to  itinerating  mission  work  in  the 
valley  of  the  Nile  ? " 

18 


CHAPTER    XVI 

THE   LAST  DAWN — AND  THE   FIRST 

THORNTON  came  back  from  his  last  mission  in  Upper 
Egypt  tired,  but  not  more  than  tired.  Orient  and 
Occident  was  suspended  for  the  holidays,  so  there  was 
very  little  to  do ;  he  could  afford  to  take  a  rest.  The 
weariness  must  indeed  have  been  great,  to  judge  by 
the  one  fact  that  the  flow  of  correspondence  soon 
ceases.  In  ordinary  times  it  would  have  overflowed 
after  such  experiences  as  those  in  Upper  Egypt. 
Again,  he  set  apart  a  day  for  sorting  and  putting 
away  the  papers,  letters,  communications,  and  other 
stratified  accumulations  of  years,  for  he  never  destroyed 
a  paper,  however  totally  unimportant.  But  at  the  very 
outset  of  the  day  he  threw  himself  back  in  a  chair, 
complaining  of  utter  slackness,  and  the  task  was  never 
done. 

It  was  clear  that  something  serious  underlay  this 
unwonted  prostration,  and  it  was  soon  manifested 
what  that  was.  His  temperature  rose,  and  the  doctor 
pronounced  that  he  was  suffering  from  an  attack  of 
enteric  fever.  It  was  a  great  blow  to  him,  for  he 
saw  at  once  that  it  meant  the  end  of  his  proposed 

274 


THE  LAST  DAWN— AND  THE  FIRST    275 

tour  in  the  Soudan;  but  he  bore  it  well,  and  soon 
talked  cheerfully  of  a  trip  to  Palestine  instead.  It 
was  holiday-time;  no  sense  of  work  being  left  un- 
done worried  him;  he  had  leisure  to  be  ill.  Thus  he 
was  never  unhappy,  for  at  first  the  attack  was  pro- 
nounced a  slight  one,  and  when  the  fatal  complication 
supervened,  he  was  too  ill  even  to  know  he  was  ill. 
A  sense  of  peace  and  contentment,  therefore,  reigned 
till  the  end. 

The  pneumonia  which  proved  fatal  supervened  when 
he  had  no  longer  any  strength  to  throw  it  off.  For 
three  days  his  constitution  battled  with  it,  but  on  the 
Saturday  morning,  7th  September,  it  was  manifest 
that  the  battle  was  against  him,  and  that  the  hour 
had  come  for  our  leader  to  go  from  us. 

In  that  remarkable  letter  —  that  self -revelation  — 
which  he  wrote  to  his  Betrothed  at  the  outset  of  his 
missionary  career,  he  had  told  her  of  his  will  and 
resolution  to  be  "a  preacher-prophet  all  the  time." 
The  reader  now  knows  how  that  resolution  had  been 
kept,  and  how  in  those  last  months  especially  it  was 
vouchsafed  to  him  to  be  a  "preacher-prophet"  to  the 
last.  But  in  this  last  night  of  his  earthly  life  he 
gave  another — an  unconscious — self-revelation,  and  in 
this  we  see  him  a  "preacher-prophet"  finally,  even  to 
the  very  end.  Wondrously,  therefore,  was  the  desire 
that  animated  his  whole  life  fulfilled. 

And  this  is  the  only  reason  that  warrants  a  bio- 
grapher in  dwelling  on  the  sacred  details  of  the  passing 
of  a  soul.  This  warrant  is  not  to  be  granted  to 


276  D.  M.  THORNTON 

sentimental  demand,  or  even  to  that  of  mere  dramatic 
completeness.  But  when  the  last  hours  are  so  entirely 
of  a  piece  with  the  whole  of  the  life  that  has  gone 
before,  pointing  its  message,  completing  its  inspira- 
tion, and  perfecting  its  glorifying  of  God,  then  it 
becomes  so  essentially  part  of  the  life,  that  the  writer 
of  the  life  cannot  choose  but  set  it  down. 

The  self -manifestation  was  all  unconscious;  that  is 
what  gave  it  its  tremendous  reality.  Thornton,  like  all 
highly  strung,  imaginative  persons,  was  not  devoid  of 
self -consciousness ;  and  had  he  been  aware  of  his  situa- 
tion during  those  hours,  this  might  have  embarrassed,  or 
it  might  have  marred,  the  perfect  simplicity  of  what  he 
revealed  to  us.  But,  in  fact,  he  was  unaware  that  he 
was  dying,  or  even  that  he  was  ill.  His  mind,  therefore, 
because  delirious,  was  all  the  more  normal — paradoxical 
though  it  may  seem,  yet  it  is  true ;  for  his  delirium  was 
not  the  distressing,  almost  maniacal,  type  that  makes  a 
man  utterly  not  himself ;  rather  it  was  a  gentle  cloud 
thrown  over  the  present,  under  which  the  mind  of  the 
man,  in  the  freedom  of  its  proper  nature,  moved  through 
its  accustomed  haunts,  without  the  little  falsenesses 
of  subjectivity,  engaged  in  its  accustomed  work.  At 
such  times  a  man  is  most  truly  himself;  inmost  thought 
and  outward  action  equally  are  transformed  into  the 
common  expression  of  word,  and  the  text  is  fulfilled 
which  saith,  "  By  thy  words  shalt  thou  be  justified,  and 
by  thy  words  shalt  thou  be  condemned"  What,  then, 
were  the  words  which,  throughout  that  livelong  night, 
were  poured  forth  before  that  tribunal  ?  Not  one 


THE  LAST  DAWN— AND  THE  FIRST    277 

syllable  that  was  unworthy  of  his  high  calling  and  his 
sacred  profession;  nay,  not  a  syllable — if  we  except  a 
few  thoughtful  inquiries  for  his  wife,  his  child,  his 
family  at  home,  his  nurses — that  was  not  about  that 
one  grand  passion  of  his  life — The  Work.  That  passion 
held  him  even  to  the  last  moments.  And  so,  the  lesson 
of  the  hour  of  death  drove  home  the  lesson  of  his  life, 
with  all  the  impressiveness,  the  mysterious  pathos,  with 
which  God  has  invested  the  sunsets  of  this  world. 

Perfect  calm  reigned  in  the  chamber  of  death;  the 
long  hours  of  the  night  were  passed  in  the  singing  of 
many  hymns,  the  reading  and  re-reading  of  many  of 
the  supreme  passages  of  Scriptures,  the  offering  of  mani- 
fold prayers,  crowned  by  a  last  Eucharist.  It  was  the 
peace  of  God  which  passeth  understanding.  For  the 
opposite  of  joy  is  not  sorrow,  but  sin ;  and  because  sin 
seemed,  for  once,  to  have  been  totally  excluded  from  the 
earthly  scene,  joy  and  sorrow  reigned  there  together, 
pure  sorrow  and  pure  joy,  making,  with  love,  one  perfect 
common  chord. 

Thus  the  night  was  one  long  watch-night  of  divine 
service ;  and  the  preacher  of  the  sermon  was  the  uncon- 
scious centre  of  it  all.  Sometimes  he  would  speak  of  his 
"  colleagues,"  as  he  always  called  them :  "  /  never  saw 
such  love  as  Mrs.  Lasbrey's" —  the  witness  of  the 
dying  to  the  dead.  Sometimes  he  imagined  himself 
expounding  some  plan,  more  suo :  "  One  or  two  points 
I  wish  you  to  notice  .  .  "  (and  emphatically) :  "  /  know 
no  more  than  what  I  wrote."  Once  he  was  preparing 
for  a  sermon  :  "  I  want  more  than  anything  else  to  say 


278  D.  M.  THORNTON 

a  few  words  on  Christian  duty.  .  .  ."  Then,  thinking 
evidently  of  the  proposed  class  for  converts  and 
workers :  "  I  may  be  able  to  do  two  hours  a  week  "  (in 
lectures,  he  meant)  ;  and  again,  speaking  humbly,  as  he 
often  did,  of  his  own  limitations  :  "  I'm  afraid  I'm  not 
enough  of  a  scholar  for  that."  Still  thinking  of  some 
great  plan  for  the  extension  of  the  work,  he  said  :  "  But 
I'm  sure  I  shall  never  be  given  money  enough  for 
that  /"..."  Wonderful  opportunites  !  "  he  once  said. 
And  once  was  overheard  a  word,  most  true  of  him  :  "  Joy 
in  service !  " 

Once — let  us  say,  a  symbolic  word  :  "  Cecil,  darling  " 
(his  little  son),  "come  along,  we  must  be  on  the 
way" 

He  was  offered  brandy,  but  put  it  from  him,  as  the 
work  again  rose  up  before  him :  "  It  would  do  the 
greatest  harm  to  my  work,  and  I  want  to  have  it 
straight  with  the  Lord  and  my  colleagues  from  the 
start"  (this  very  emphatic  and  distinct). 

He  enjoyed  the  hymns,  but  did  not  join  in,  save 
once,  when  he  beat  time  vigorously  to  "  Safe  in  the 
arms  of  Jesus,"  and  once  when  he  suddenly  broke  into 
the  hymn,  "And  now,  beloved  Lord,  Thy  soul  resign- 
ing," at  the  words,  "Sweet  Saviour,  in  mine  hour  of 
mortal  anguish."  Loudly  he  sang,  though  the  poor 
dying  voice  refused  to  form  a  musical  note. 

The  two  sole  texts  of  Scripture  overheard  from  him 
during  the  night  were  strangely  appropriate.  One  was, 
"  Into  Thy  hands,  0  Lord,  I  com/mend  my  spirit " ;  the 
other,  "  Let  patience  have  her  perfect  work." 


THE  LAST  DAWN— AND  THE  FIRST    279 

Strange  text  for  a  Thornton,  a  Boanerges!  Yet 
how  little  we  know  of  the  lives  even  of  our  nearest! 
Who  would  have  guessed  what  were  the  words  found 
in  his  pocket-book,  carried  about  like  an  amulet, 
written  on  a  soiled,  worn  scrap  of  paper,  as  if 
frequently  and  continuously  referred  to  by  him  ?  They 
were  these — 

"  Drop  Thy  still  dews  of  quietness, 

Till  all  our  strivings  cease  ; 
Take  from  our  souls  the  strain  and  stress, 
And  let  our  ordered  lives  confess 
The  beauty  of  Thy  peace. 

Breathe  through  the  heata  of  our  desire 

Thy  coolness  and  Thy  balm  ; 
Let  sense  be  dumb,  let  flesh  retire  ; 
Speak  through  the  earthquake,  wind,  and  fire, 

0  still  small  voice  of  calm  !  " 

And  the  conjunction  of  these  peace-breathing  lines 
with  this  man,  whose  nature  was  so  strenuous  and 
impatient,  whose  attitude  so  militant  and  uncom- 
promising, has  something  in  it  that  touches  very 
nearly  to  the  quick. 

More  than  once  he  folded  his  hands  in  prayer, 
holding  them  high  up ;  twice  the  words  of  the  Lord's 
Prayer  were  on  his  lips.  Often  the  prayer  was  in- 
articulate, but  "  Yes,  Lord!"  was  distinctly  caught. 
Once  he  said,  though  it  needed  no  verbal  expression, 
"  Let  them  know  that  I  am  strong  in  the  faith." 

A  sense  of  completion,  of  the  transferring  of  re- 
sponsibility, seemed  to  have  been  given  to  this  worker 
who  always  was  striving  after  a  new  horizon,  and 


280  D.  M.  THORNTON 

who  never  could  bear  to  be  without  his  share  in 
every  enterprise.  "I'll  leave  all  that  to  you  fellows 
to  organise"  he  said;  a  last  unconscious  charge.  Yet 
in  the  ultimate  words  that  were  distinguishable,  in 
those  early  hours  of  the  morning,  he  imagined  him- 
self back  at  the  great  enterprise:  "7  must  have 
Friday  for  the  Moslem  meeting"  he  said.  And  then, 
two  words,  "  The  work." 

Later  on  he  was  evidently  preaching,  though  the 
words  could  not  be  distinguished.  The  mortal  illness 
had  made  his  voice,  even  from  the  beginning  of  the 
evening,  hoarse  and  strange,  and,  as  this  strangeness 
increased,  it  seemed  to  intensify  the  almost  terrible 
earnestness  with  which  he  pled  for  God.  He  would 
throw  up  his  right  hand,  and,  at  some  pause  in  his 
preaching,  push  back  the  hair  from  his  flushed  brow, 
those  two  old  "imperial  gestures"  so  well  known  to 
many  a  crowd  of  listeners  on  Llandudno  or  Scarborough 
beach,  or  in  tent,  or  hall,  or  church.  His  earnestness 
was  terrible  to  watch.  He  seemed  to  be  the  incarna- 
tion of  that  tender  yet  awful  figure  of  the  Man 
pleading  with  souls  in  the  Pilgrim's  Progress,  described 
by  Bunyan  in  one  of  his  most  immortal  phrases. 

Thus  Thornton  preached  on,  the  strange,  unearthly 
voice  echoing  down  the  hushed  corridors  of  the  hospital 
in  the  deep,  still  hours  before  daybreak.  And  the 
voice  never  paused,  though  words  had  long  since  ceased 
to  be  distinguishable :  .  .  .  quite  insensibly,  as  total 
unconsciousness  stole  over  him,  it  did  but  merge  into 


THE  LAST  DAWN— AND  THE  FIRST    281 

the  loud  breathing  of  a  dying  man.     He  had  his  wish : 
he  was  "  a  preacher-prophet  all  the  time." 

We  had  crossed  his  hands  upon  his  breast,  and  thus 
they  remained.  Through  the  interstices  of  the  Venetian 
shutters  the  dawn  was  flushing  red  in  the  East.  As 
the  flush  brightened  and  all  nature  began  to  awaken 
to  the  morning  of  the  Lord's  Day,  the  sound  of  his 
breathing  grew  more  still ;  the  hoarseness  ceased ;  it 
gave  place  to  one  or  two  gentle  sighs.  .  .  .  One  of  these 
.  .  .  had  no  successor.  The  pure,  noble  spirit  had  fled. 


The  rose-flush  in  the  East  had  passed  into  gold  as 
we  came  forth  into  the  glowing  Eastern  morning, 
and  in  the  mysterious  breathlessness  of  dawn  walked 
through  the  silent  streets  to  his  deserted  home.  All 
Nature  seemed  filled,  instinct,  with  love,  joy,  and  peace. 
And  Grace  echoed  the  testimony,  for  we  remembered 
at  that  moment  that  it  was  the  day  and  well-nigh  the 
hour  on  which  his  Lord  rose  from  the  dead.  .  .  .  And 
so  the  sun  rose  in  glory.  The  day  had  dawned  and 
the  shadows  had  fled  away ;  and  the  thought  thrilled 
through  one  that  Douglas  Thornton  was  at  that 


282  D.  M.  THORNTON 

moment  entering  upon  his  first  real  holiday,  the  eternal 
holy-day  of  the  saints  at  rest. 

And  yet,  if  personality  be,  in  Christ,  guarded  and 
preserved,  it  is  impossible  to  think  of  Douglas  Thorn- 
ton's holiday  as  a  holiday  of  inaction.  As  of  old,  it 
must  be  a  holiday  of  work:  but  of  work  freed  now 
from  the  distressing  limitations  of  the  work  on  earth ; 
effort  without  friction ;  the  perfect  rest  of  joyous  and 
unimpeded  activity.  It  is  his  service  in  the  Church 
Militant  that  is  over.  The  fighter  is  at  rest;  the 
worker  will  never  die. 

He  lies  in  the  quiet  cemetery  between  the  Desert 
and  the  Nile,  in  the  Egypt  which  he  came  to  love 
and  for  which  he  very  gladly  gave  his  life.  The 
Arabic  which  he  burned  to  Christianise  was  spoken 
at  his  obsequies,  and  English  brother -clergy  man  and 
Moslem  convert,  Syrian  and  Egyptian  fellow-worker, 
Coptic  bishop  and  deacon,  all  took  their  part,  in  honour 
of  him  whose  whole  life  was  to  join  and  not  divide, 
to  gather  and  not  to  scatter.  "Sow  in  the  morn  thy 
seed,  at  eve  hold  not  thy  hand"  the  mourners  sang ; 
and  with  the  words  came  the  pledge  that  that  day's 
earthly  dawn,  when  his  spirit  had  fled,  had  told  us 
truly  of  the  Dawn  which  shines  more  and  more  until 
the  Perfect  Day;  that  those  who  then  were  sowing 
precious  seed,  weeping,  should  one  day  come  again  with 
joy,  bearing  their  sheaves  with  them  ;  and  that  his  un- 
finished labours  would  be  caught  up  by  living  hands, 
and  finished,  according  to  the  promise  of  Him  who 
said  that  undying  word — 


THE  LAST  DAWN— AND  THE  FIRST    283 

"  EXCEPT  A  CORN  OF  WHEAT  FALL  INTO  THE  GROUND 
AND  DIE,  IT  ABIDETH  ALONE,  BUT  IF  IT  DIE  IT 
BRINGETH  FORTH  MUCH  FRUIT." 

"HE  THAT  LOVETH  HIS  LIFE  SHALL  LOSE  IT,  BUT  HE 
THAT  HATETH  HIS  LIFE  SHALL  KEEP  IT  TO  LIFE  EVER- 
LASTING." 

"  IF  A  MAN  LOVE  ME  LET  HIM  FOLLOW  ME  :  THAT 
WHERE  I  AM  THERE  MAY  MY  SERVANT  BE  ALSO." 


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Price    .    3s.  6d. 

THE  HOME  MINISTRY 
AND  MODERN  MISSIONS 

By  JOHN    R.   MOTT,   M.A. 

A  Plea  for  Leadership  in  World  Evangelisation 
With  an  Introduction  by  EUGENE  STOCK 


' '  All  who  have  to  do  with  the  organisation  of 
Foreign  Mission  work  will  agree  with  Mr.  Mott  when 
he  says  that  the  real  problem  of  Foreign  Missions  is  in 
the  Home  Church,  and  that,  apart  from  the  ministry,  it 
cannot  be  solved.  '  The  weak  spot  in  Missions  to-day," 
says  Dr.  Munger,  '  is  not  in  the  field,  nor  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  Board,  nor  in  the  pews,  but  it  is  in  the  pul- 
pit.' The  book  is  characterised  throughout  by  practical 
common  sense,  and  in  entire  absence  of  fanaticism. 
...  In  the  chapter  on  '  The  Home  Ministry  as  a 
Spiritual  Force  in  the  World's  Evangelisation,'  which  is 
the  most  valuable  in  the  book,  emphasis  is  laid  upon  the 
supreme  importance  of  intercessory  prayer  at  home  as 
a  condition  of  successful  prosecution  of  missionary 
work  abroad,  and  remarkable  instances  are  cited  in 
illustration  of  this.  We  cordially  commend  this  book 
to  all  who  desire  to  know  how  they  may  best  promote 
at  home  an  interest  in  missionary  work  abroad." — 
Guardian. 


London:   HODDER   &  STOUGHTON 


Price    .     6s. 

CHRISTIANITY  IN  THE 
MODERN  WORLD 

By  the   Rev. 
D.  S.  CAIRNS,   M.A. 

"A  very  valuable  and  useful  work,  especially 
at  the  present  moment,  when  there  is  so  much 
talk  of  the  '  New  Theology.'  ...  At  the  present 
moment,  with  '  the  present  anarchy  of  belief,'  as 
the  writer  calls  it,  all  around  us,  we  are  coming 
more  and  more  to  the  conclusion  that  we  shall 
have  to  gird  ourselves  for  the  renewal  of  the 
fight,  waged  victoriously  in  the  fourth  century, 
but  none  the  less  to  be  fiercely  carried  on  again 
now,  concerning  the  Personality  and  Divinity  of 
our  Blessed  Lord.  The  present  writer  helps  us 
to  prepare  courageously  for  this  contest.  .  .  .  We 
consider  the  book  to  be  an  extremely  useful 
attempt  to  direct  the  careful  reader's  thoughts 
in  the  right  direction." — Church  Times. 


London:   HODDER   &  STOUGHTON 


With  Map  and  Illustrations,     Price  3s.  6d. 

A  THOUSAND  MILES  OF 
MIRACLE  IN  CHINA 

A  Personal  Record  of  God's  Delivering  Power  from 
the  hands  of  the  Imperial  Boxers  of  Shan-si 

By  the   Rev. 

ARCHIBALD    E.   GLOVER, 
M.A.  (Oxon.),  of  the  China  Inland  Mission 


"The  terrible  story  of  the  fiery  trial  through  which 
the  Church  of  Christ  in  China  passed  in  1900  must  ever 
be  remembered  as  a  marvellous  example  of  faithfulness 
unto  death  at  the  call  of  Christ.  Round  the  great 
event  there  has  grown  up  a  special  literature,  telling 
of  the  wonderful  grace  of  God  during  the  weeks  of 
suffering,  and  of  His  nearness  to  His  people  in  the 
time  of  human  extremity.  The  latest  book  in  this 
connection,  and  one  worthy  to  rank  with  the  best  that 
have  preceded  it,  is  'A  Thousand  Miles  of  Miracle  in 
China.  '"—Christian. 

"It  is  a  personal  narrative,  a  narrative  of  personal 
suffering,  worthy  to  rank  in  patience  and  tribulation 
with  any  experience  through  which  the  followers  of 
Christ  have  been  sent  in  all  the  history  of  Christianity. 
Mr.  Glover  writes  vividly." — Expository  Times. 


London:    HODDER   &  STOUOHTON 


Works  by  Mrs.  ASHLEY  CARUS-WlLSON. 
Price    .     3s.  6d. 

MISSIONARY  CLEWS  TO 
THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 

By  Mrs.  ASHLEY  CARUS-WILSON,  B.A. 


PART  I. — Redemptor  Mundi.  A  Scheme  for  the 
Missionary  Study  of  the  Four  Gospels.  In  eight  sections. 
PART  II. — St.  Paul :  Missionary  to  the  Nations.  A 
Scheme  for  the  Study  of  His  Life  and  Writings.  In 
eight  sections.  PART  III. — St.  Peter  and  St.  John : 
First  Missionaries  of  the  Gospel.  A  Scheme  for  the 
Study  of  the  Earliest  Christian  Age.  In  eight  sections. 

"  Primarily  this  manual  is  designed  for  bands  of  students  who 
meet  together  regularly  under  the  influence  of  missionary  zeal  for 
the  leading  of  the  New  Testament.  But  the  manual  deserves  to  be 
more  widely  known  than  this  special  purpose  implies,  as  a  useful 
contribution  to  the  general  study  of  the  New  Testament.  The 
whole  book  is  based  upon  a  thoroughly  sound  principle,  namely, 
that  the  missionary  methods  of  the  New  Testament  are  applicable 
in  all  ages  of  the  world's  history,  and  offer  solutions  of  problems 
which  were  foreseen  in  the  first  age  by  the  Founder  of  Christianity." 
— Guardian. 

IRENE  PETRIE,  Missionary  to  Kashmir. 

Sixth  Edition.      With  Portraits,  Maps,  and  Illustrations.     6s. 

"  This  is  a  biography  of  the  highest  class  in  two  ways,  both  as  a 
literary  production  and  as  the  record  of  a  singularly  beautiful  life. 
There  has  been  no  such  biography  since  Bishop  Hannington." — 
Church  Missionary  Intelligencer. 

CLEWS  TO  HOLY  WRIT;  or,  the  Chrono- 
logical Scripture  Cycle.  A  Scheme  for  Studying  the 
whole  Bible  in  its  historical  order  during  these  years. 
Popular  Edition,  completing  Eighteenth  Thousand,  2s. 

"Of  all  the  existing  unions  for  Bible  reading,  this  easily  ranks 
first  for  thoroughness  and  value." — British  Weekly. 


London:  HODDER  &  STOUGHTON. 


A     000  082  545     5 


